DeVonta Smith appears ready to return just in time for the playoffs.
Smith (ankle) was a full participant in Philadelphia's practice on Thursday, seemingly placing him on track to play in the Eagles' Monday night showdown at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to conclude Super Wild Card Weekend.
Smith sat out of Philadelphia's Week 18 loss to the New York Giants, an ugly showing for the Eagles' entire offense. Smith told reporters earlier Thursday he intends to play on Monday.
Elsewhere on the injury front, Jalen Hurts, who dislocated his middle finger in the regular-season finale against the New York Giants, was a limited participant in practice and said he's making progress.Â
"Obviously leaving that game and attempting to go back into that game probably wasn't physically the best idea, not having much control over the things that I wanted to do," Hurts said, via ESPN. "But time will tell with that, and I can assure you things are progressing in the right way."
The reinforcements don't stop there. Cornerback Darius Slay underwent surgery recently and told reporters his knee feels "a thousand times better" than it did before the operation, per ESPN's Tim McManus.
The Eagles have won just once in their last six games, a span in which the Eagles have surrendered 27 or more points in all but one contest. Time is running out to get things right before the season is suddenly over, but with the improvements for Smith and Slay -- key players on both sides of the ball -- they have reason to feel optimistic entering the final game of Super Wild Card Weekend.
