A fan bellowed from the bleachers as Stewart Bradley walked off the Philadelphia Eagles' practice field at Lehigh University on Saturday morning.
"We missed you last year, Stew!" she hollered.
Bradley smiled and pointed two thumbs up.
The middle linebacker had just demonstrated what the Eagles missed and why his return is so welcomed.
"It was great to be out there," he said. "I had a lot of fun."
The fourth-year pro had appeared quick, agile and mobile in the first full-contact session of training camp, less than a year after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee in 2009 camp.
Bradley is not wearing a brace on the knee.
"For me, I've been clear with the knee for so many months now, it doesn't really feel like an issue in my mind," said Bradley, who has been practicing since the Eagles' post-draft camp in the spring. I've been running and done so much speedwork that I feel like I kind of had a normal offseason prep. I feel as good as I ever have."
His interception of a Kevin Kolb pass during a full-squad scrimmage was the morning's most obvious message that Bradley is back.
"It was a coverage we put in this year that allows me to kind of square up and face the quarterback and use my lateral speed to make plays on the ball," Bradley said. "It was the first time we ran it and we caught them off guard."
A healthy Bradley will be a dependable IDP player, and could be undervalued in drafts coming off his injury. The Eagles are ranked as the fifth-best defense here at 4for4, and Bradley's return enhances an already solid unit.
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