Eagles head coach said Saturday he wanted to see how Jeremy Maclin and Steve Smith responded to their first practice of the preseason before making any plans about when they would play.
Maclin said Saturday he definitely plans to be ready for the Sept. 11 opener in his hometown of St. Louis.
The situation is more involved for Smith, who is coming back from knee microfracture surgery. By letting him practice, the Eagles were saying they were confident he would play sometime in the first 6 weeks of the season. Had he not practiced, Smith could have gone on the physically unable to perform list for the first 6 weeks, and wouldn't have counted on the 53-man roster. Practicing took away Smith's PUP eligibility.