Riley Cooper a week away, Jeremy Maclin doubtful for Eagles vs. Patriots

The Philadelphia Eagles could be down a pair of wide receivers for Friday evening’s preseason game against the New England Patriots.

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Jeremy Maclin is unlikely to play after tweaking his hamstring on Wednesday and missing practice on Thursday, so he is very likely to miss the game, considering he missed all of last year with an ACL tear, taking a cautious approach would be a wise decision.

“I wanted to go out there and compete,” Maclin said afterward, per Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer, “and I just knew that once that happened I was going to shut it down for the rest of the day.”

No sense in rushing a return when hamstring injuries can tend to linger around if you come back too soon from the injury.

While it looks doubtful that Maclin plays on Friday, no doubt remains concerning the status of Riley Cooper who has been ruled out as he continues his slow recovery from a foot injury.

Cooper missed the team’s preseason opener last Friday against the Chicago Bears, but hopes to play in at least one preseason game to get prepared for the regular season opener.

In the interim, second round pick Jordan Matthews should see more looks his way and the SEC’s all-time leading receiver out of Vanderbilt has turned heads with his play in camp out of the slot.

The Eagles are a legit Super Bowl team, but they’ll need Cooper and Maclin healthy all season for Chip Kelly’s team to fulfill the preseason predictions for this team. They have a couple more weeks to get their health in order.