Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Mychal Kendricks turned himself into a Pro Bowl-worthy player last season.
In just 12 games of work for the Birds, Kendricks amassed 83 tackles, four sacks, three forced fumbles and three passes defensed - what would amount to pretty great numbers for an inside linebacker in a full 16-game slate.
The only problem?
Those four other games, the ones he missed due to a lingering hamstring strain.
Kendricks, who only missed two games his first two NFL seasons and never missed a game during his collegiate career at Cal, may have developed an unfavorable reputation with Eagles head coach Chip Kelly last year due to his inability to return to the field in a timely fashion.
"Kelly never said in so many words that Kendricks should have been able to return quicker. But the organizational frustration over his slow recovery was clearly evident last year," reported Paul Domowitch of The Philadelphia Daily News.
Domowitch believes that over the course of the past few weeks, Kelly and the Eagles have been sending what he dubs "some not-so-subtle messages" to Kendricks that he may sometimes have to play through injury.
Kelly, when asked about the young stud 'backer during the NFL owners meetings in Phoenix last week, said that Kendricks played very well for the team last year, but made sure to add the caveat that he was only able to do so when healthy.
"I thought when he was healthy he played really well for us," Kelly said, per Domowitch. "But we missed him for four games. The health aspect was a difficult thing. And we were a different team when he wasn't out there. But when he played, he played really well for us."
Kendricks, 24, is entering the final year of his rookie contract. There was much speculation that the team would reach out to his representatives to begin negotiations on a new deal this offseason, but it seems that has yet to happen.
While it's completely baseless and unfounded to surmise that the recent one-year extension/restructuring handed to defensive captain DeMeco Ryans and the LeSean McCoy trade that brought back young talent Kiko Alonso may mean the end for Kendricks in Philly, if Domowitch's report is accurate, there may be a reason why the team hasn't yet spoken with Kendricks about an extension.
Kelly and the Eagles may be waiting to see if Kendricks can bounce back and play at a consistently high level through a full 16 game schedule - and hopefully beyond - before offering him a new contract.
