Philadelphia Eagles running back Jay Ajayi is on pace for Thursday night's season-opening kickoff versus the Atlanta Falcons.
Ajayi was listed as a full participant in practice on Tuesday after being limited on Monday.
The 25-year-old tailback sat out the final two weeks of the preseason with a foot injury. The Eagles were simply playing it safe with their No. 1 running back, as it never appeared Ajayi's regular season would be in doubt.
With LeGarrette Blount gone, Ajayi is expected to be the early-down workhorse in Philadelphia. Last season down the stretch, Ajayi earned 15.7 touches per game in his last six contests played, including playoffs. Expect that number to increase this season.
Having Ajayi ready to go is a good sign for the Eagles, who are dealing with several other banged-up positions. Receivers Alshon Jeffery and Mack Hollins will miss the opener; neither practiced Tuesday. Defensive end Michael Bennett (knee) also sat out Tuesday -- he was not listed on Monday's injury report.
Quarterback Carson Wentz (knee) was limited in practice on Tuesday. Nick Foles will start Thursday as Wentz continues to rehab. Coach Doug Pederson said the young signal-caller is close to being cleared.
"Close. I'm no doctor, no expert," Pederson said. "I'm still leaving it up to the medical team. He's had some great workouts here in the last few days. We'll see."
Here are other injuries we're tracking today:
- Are the Panthers finally receiving good news for the injury-riddled offensive line? Daryl Williams and Amini Silatolu, who are both battling knee injuries, practiced in full pads, per multiple reports. Coach Ron Rivera described them as day-to-day.
Second-year wideout Curtis Samuel underwent a procedure to fix an irregular heartbeat and will likely be out this week versus the Cowboys, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reports.
