It must have been something of déjà vu for Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Travis Long when he tore his ACL late last preseason. Long, an undrafted free agent added by Chip Kelly and the Eagles after the 2013 NFL Draft, had torn the same ligament in his other knee during his senior year at Washington State, likely contributing directly to his having gone unselected in the NFL rookie meat market.
Long, a versatile linebacker, looked to have a roster spot sewn up last year prior to the injury - "Obviously, he got hurt late in the preseason, but if he wasn't hurt, he would have made our team last year," Kelly said earlier this offseason - but wound up spending his initial NFL season on IR.
Heading into Year Two and looking to ditch the knee brace he's been wearing by training camp, what is Long expecting for himself?
According to Tim McManus of PhillyMag.com, Long, who cross-trained at both inside and outside linebacker last year, looks to be sticking on the outside at the moment.
"It's kind of nice being able to focus on one position right now, especially still being in the recovery mindset," he said. "I definitely do enjoy playing outside 'backer a lot more."
Of course, Long's full-time move outside probably says as much about the Eagles lack of depth there and overabundance of starter quality guys inside than it does about Long, but there's no doubting that the long-haired 'backer seems to have a knack for bringing down the quarterback.
Fortunately for Long, his efforts thus far in OTAs don't seem to be lost on Kelly.
"Travis is playing outside right now and doing a really good job," Kelly said, via Mark Eckel of NJ.com. "We're really excited about him. We were excited about him last year. Obviously, he got hurt late in the preseason, but if he wasn't hurt, he would have made our team last year.
"So he's really right back to where he was. He's really contributing well on special teams and he's making a push toward outside linebacker right now.''
During his four years at Washington State, Long gathered 201 tackles, 20.5 sacks, 11.5 passes defensed, four forced fumbles and an interception. Despite missing two games due to the ACL injury his senior year, Long still managed 9.5 sacks.
While the trade for Kiko Alonso, the extension for DeMeco Ryans, the return of Mychal Kendricks and the drafting of Jordan Hicks likely means Philly is set on the side, outside is a whole other matter.
Connor Barwin, coming off his first Pro Bowl, is firmly entrenched at the Joker spot. Brandon Graham, resigned in free agency, seems to have the Predator position locked up.
Beyond that, questions abound.
Former first-round pick Marcus Smith is a complete unknown. He's reportedly added some bulk this offseason, but his abysmal rookie year means counting on him for nearly anything seems ill-advised. Brad Jones, a player who was solely an inside linebacker for most of his NFL career, has been seeing some snaps with the outside guys thus far in OTAs, presumably to help offset the lack of depth.
In short, Long doesn't seem to have much in the way of an impediment to a roster spot this year. If he can stay healthy, he's likely to both make the team and see significant snaps both on special teams and as a key defensive back up.
Of course, it's what he's eventually able to do with those snaps that's most important.
