Tight End: The Cornelius Ingram Injury and Eugene Bright Opportunity

(Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images)

Cornelius Ingram returned to practice friday.  He suffered a knee contusion on wednesday on the same knee that that kept him out of the 2008 season at Florida.

Ingram reported that there was swelling, but he felt fine after being treated and felt good enough to return to full practice on friday.

He has been extremely impressive in camp and Eagles correspondent, Dave Spadaro, has been clear that Ingram has been a camp stand out and that the injury is nothing to be concerned about.

Ingram is a tremendous athlete with scouting concerns regarding his knee.  Ingram has had an long period to rehabilitate.  He has been working back to game form since the summer of 2008. 

Although he seems to have recovered fully from this recent injury already, one continues to wonder if his knee is in fact extraordinarily sensative to contact at this time. 

In his absence, rookie free agent Eugene Bright, had an opportunity to take every snap at tight end at thursday's practice.

This may be a blessing in disguise for the Eagles.  The potential of Eugene Bright as a blocking tight end by far outweighs the seniority of veteran and underachiever Matt Schobel.

If Bright can make the active roster, the Eagles will have two solid rookie tight ends.  One in Ingram, who can be an all around weapon and big time receiving threat.  Second in Bright, who can catch and provide the big blocking body.

Bright is a former defensive end from Purdue who has been very interesting in camp.  He has displayed good hands and he is used to a lot of contact.  He is a solid 6'4" and 264 pounds from Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.

Despite being a defensive end at Purdue, Bright has some experience at tight end from high school.

Ingram has also been reported as having impressive blocking technique, especially considering his role in Florida's offense was a spread tight end. 

He has expressed his understanding of the importance of blocking at his position in the NFL.  Ingram took his knowledge further by diligently training towards improving his technique.

The blocking tight end function will be more accurately assessed once the pads go on and they start making real contact. 

Both Ingram and Bright have moved up the coach's board since the OTA's started.

Another injury note is defensive tackle, Amon Gordon, likely out for the season with a ruptured Achilles Tendon. 

This almost assures Dan Klecko a position on the roster as long as rookie free agent Trevor Jenkins doesn't show something extra special.  Klecko's overall versatility has made him a fan favorite.

For the original injury report on Ingram, follow the link: Ingram Injury.

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