Eagles' Asante Samuel misses another practice; doubtful against the Cowboys – NFL News
Owing to a hamstring injury, Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Asante Samuel missed second straight practice session on Thursday, raising doubts regarding his participation in the Christmas Eve’s game against Dallas Cowboys.
The Eagles are going to release their injury report on Friday, where it will be confirmed whether Samuel will travel to Dallas.
During the last week game against New York Jets, Samuel hurt his hamstring. However, the matters got worse when he appeared in the practice session on Tuesday and made his injury more severe. He has not practised since then.
"Asante is still a little sore, and we'll just see how he does here over the next couple days," Head Coach Andy Reid said. "He jogged a little bit (Tuesday) and got sore ... so we just backed off him. We're trying to rehab it and
see how it goes from there."
Samuel, a nine-year veteran, is playing his fourth season for the Eagles. He started his professional career with New England Patriots in 2003. This season, he has played all the 14 games where has recorded 34 tackles.
On Saturday, the Eagles will face the Cowboys in a must-win game. One more defeat will eliminate them from the playoff-race. That said, their entry in the postseason is not guaranteed even if they win their last two games.
In such a situation, the Eagles will want to play at their full strength and that’s why they badly need Samuel.
According to Reid, Samuel can make it to the final line-up without participating in the practice session if he remains healthy. The coach thinks that Samuel’s experience will help the side greatly against the Cowboys.
"He knows what we're doing, it's just a matter of getting the soreness out of there to where he feels comfortable," Reid said. "Nobody wants to play more than he does, so you know he's going to do everything possible to get himself
ready to go."
If Samuel does not play, his place will be taken by Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, who is playing his first season for the franchise. Before coming to Philadelphia, he spent three years at Arizona. This season, he has started one
game while playing 11. He has 23 tackles to his credit.
Meanwhile, cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha has said that he and the other players are ready to play with both the players. Whether Samuel or Dominique start the game, he said, the players will give their best shot to ensure a victory.
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