Andy Reid: Philadelphia Eagles' Starting Right Cornerback Will Be...

On his weekly radio show on Sportsradio 610 WIP, head coach Andy Reid indicated that Dimitri Patterson, who has started at right cornerback in each of the final nine games this season after taking over for the injured Ellis Hobbs in Week 8, is likely to remain the starter this Sunday when the Eagles begin the playoffs against the Green Bay Packers.

Patterson was replaced by Joselio Hanson in the second half of the Week 16 loss to the Minnesota Vikings after allowing a touchdown and committing an unnecessary roughness penalty.

Then, while many of the starters rested in the regular season finale, Patterson started and played the first half at right cornerback, notching his first career sack in the process and playing his physical brand of football.

“I thought he played well and so I think he deserves that opportunity (to be a starter),” Reid said. “He’s had a good year this year. He’s an aggressive football player and he’s got a Pro Bowl player (Asante Samuel) playing opposite him that people don’t like to throw at, so Dimitri gets the majority of the throws coming his direction as far as the two corners. He takes some chances at time and then he learns from them and he comes back.

“That’s part of being a young guy that’s learning and only getting better.”

On the injury front, Reid reiterated what he said earlier in the day about middle linebacker Stewart Bradley, who told reporters Sunday that he’d be “ready to go” for the Packers, being “a stretch” this Sunday.

“I’m optimistic, but I’m not as optimistic as (Bradley) is that he’ll play Sunday,” Reid said. “I know he wants to be out there, but you’ve got to let that thing heal up and make sure that it’s healed before we let him go out there.”

On the positive side, Reid said there’s a good chance that starting right guard Max Jean-Gilles could be back in the lineup after leaving Sunday’s game with a left ankle sprain.

“I think it looks good for Max but we’ll see here,” Reid said. “He’s moving around OK, he’s doing two-a-day therapy sessions with trainers. We’ll see how he does here over the next two days.”