Eagles' Nick Sirianni Won't Put Timetable On WR DeVonta Smith's Return, Praises Speed Of WR Group
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni won't put a timetable on rookie WR DeVonta Smith's return as he rehabs a knee sprain.
"We're not putting a timetable on any injuries, we just want him to attack his rehab and get ready as soon as he can," Sirianni said. "We want him to have as many reps as he possibly can. This is a different game, NFL and college football are different games. We want him to get as many reps as he can and we'll play that day-by-day, week-by-week."
Despite not practicing on Tuesday, Smith was still out on the field.
Hello Devonta Smith. (And Jake) pic.twitter.com/efJr4awWPM
— Pat Gallen (@PatGallenCBS3) August 3, 2021
During his Tuesday morning press conference, he did give the Birds' wide receiver group praise.
Sirianni is impressed with the speed the group has. He says Eagles passing game coordinator, Kevin Patullo, mentioned they didn't have this kind of speed when coaching the Indianapolis Colts.
"I've been very pleased with the entire group. Kevin Patullo keeps coming up to me saying, 'We didn't have this speed in Indy.' And he's like 'And we sure as heck didn't have it right away.' And so we're seeing we got some guys that can really run, so I'm really excited about that. I'm really excited about the group as a whole."
Smith is listed as week-to-week after spraining his knee during practice over the weekend.
The rookie was the Eagles' 10th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft and won the Heisman Trophy last year with Alabama.
Eagles players are set to speak to the media Tuesday following the team's practice. You can watch the press conference in the player above. It is expected to begin around 12 p.m.