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Jeff McLane's Twitter: Eagles sign TE Cornelius Ingram + 2 others

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  • Jeff McLane's Twitter: Eagles sign TE Cornelius Ingram + 2 others

    Per Jeff McLane's Twitter Account via RotoWorld...

    Eagles signed TE Cornelius Ingram, TE John Nalbone, and WR Jeremy Williams to reserve/future contracts.

    A victim of multiple ACL tears, Ingram spent the 2010 on and off the Eagles' practice squad. He may never stay healthy long enough to reach his once vast potential. Nalbone, a project, was the Dolphins' fifth-round pick in 2009. Williams shined in OTAs with the Chargers last season before disappearing in training camp.

  • #2
    8/11/11 Update...

    The explosion TE Cornelius Ingram showed as a rookie in 2009 "just isn't there anymore," according to beat writer Jeff McLane.

    Ingram hasn't been the same since his second ACL tear to the same knee back in 2009. This is his third camp with the Eagles, and he's yet to play in a regular season game. Ingram "doesn't appear to be running with a hitch," but he's now a roster longshot.

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    • #3
      http://www.csnphilly.com/08/17/11/Af...272&feedID=692

      After 3 lost seasons, Eagles' Ingram finally healthy



      It wasn’t up at Lehigh on the grass practice fields during endless training camp practices that Cornelius Ingram realized he was finally all the way back.

      No, it was on the hardwood gym floor in Gainesville, Fla., during spirited basketball games with a bunch of other locked-out NFL players from the University of Florida – the Pouncey twins, Percey Harvin, Louis Murphy and Riley Cooper – that Ingram finally felt right.

      “Once I dunked,” Ingram said with a laugh. “Then I dunked a couple more times.”

      Thanks to three years of knee problems, Ingram hasn’t played a meaningful football game since his junior year at Florida – back in the fall of 2007.

      He missed 2008 with a torn ACL, then suffered another ACL tear in his rookie camp with the Eagles in 2009. He was back in camp with the Eagles last summer but was still hobbled and released before the season, although he did return for two stints on the practice squad in November and December.

      Now, Ingram is back again. And this time he’s healthy.

      The third-year tight end, a fifth-round pick in 2009, has resurrected himself after three lost seasons. He’s got his speed back. He’s got his athleticism back. He’s got his game back.

      He never lost his smile.

      “He’s one of the most positive people I know,” said Cooper, his teammate at Florida and again now with the Eagles.

      But now Ingram has truly got something to smile about. He’s still fighting an uphill battle to make the team, but at least he has a fighting chance.

      “I don’t even worry about the circumstances or the situation,” Ingram said. “I can honestly say this is truly the best I’ve felt since my junior year. No hitching in my routes, I’m able to come off the ball full speed and do everything with no limitations. Everything else will take care of itself, as long as I stay healthy.

      “I try not to even worry about [anything else]. I focus on one thing every day and try to get better at it, and that’s most important to me.”

      There’s a good reason the Eagles have been so patient with Ingram. When healthy, Ingram is a beast. He caught 34 passes for 508 yards and seven TDs for the Gators as a junior, and at 6-foot-4, 250 pounds with terrific speed and athleticism, he’s a natural down-the-field tight end.

      He just hasn’t been healthy. After dazzling everybody the first month of his rookie training camp at Lehigh, he tore his left ACL, the same one that cost him his senior year at Florida. It’s taken until now to get it right.

      “To be honest, the lockout actually did me some justice,” Ingram said. “I was training every day back in Gainesville. Started back playing basketball a lot. When I started dunking, that gave me a little bit more confidence that I’m really back. Because before that I wouldn’t even step on the basketball court. I was afraid to even try to take a layup.

      “We trained every day, we hooped every day, and all that confidence came back and now there are no limitations. ... I knew once I get back on the field [I’d] be fine. I was running routes back at home as well, I was doing bag drills, but once I got [to camp] and started to make plays and move around like I did my junior year in college, I knew I was back. I’m happy. I’m very happy.”

      With starter Brent Celek, second-year pro Clay Harbor and nine-year veteran Donald Lee all at tight end, there doesn’t seem to be any room for Ingram on the 53-man roster.

      But he’s at least worked himself into the picture. And his coaches have noticed.

      “Outstanding, young, talented man,” offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg said. “He’s been through really two major injuries [and] he just hasn’t been on the field much with our offensive structure in the last couple of years. He’s having an outstanding camp. He really flashes brilliance. So now he’s got to play at that high level on a consistent basis.”

      Ingram didn’t play a lot in the Eagles’ first preseason game, against the Ravens last week, but he should play a little more Thursday night against the Steelers in Pittsburgh. He actually has never caught a pass in his three preseasons with the Eagles and last played in a meaningful game on New Year’s Day 2008, when Florida lost to Michigan in the Capital One Bowl in Orlando.

      Since then? Nothing except 3 1/2 years of rehab. And waiting.

      “It’s been tough,” Ingram said. “Anytime you want to compete and you want to be on the field and you have to sit out because of an injury, it hurts. Especially when you see other guys on your team being successful and you want to be part of it. It hurts a lot.

      “But going in, a lot of people who’ve been through back-to-back ACL injuries, talked to me and basically told me it takes up to two years sometimes. So it’s one of those things where I just had to be patient. I’ve always been confident ... I’d get back to where I wanted to be if I just did what the trainers here said. It was a long journey.”

      Ingram has no swelling anymore in his knees. He doesn’t even ice them anymore after practice. Doesn’t think about them during practice.

      “I go out basically with no worries,” he said. “Just try to play every play full-speed.”

      Cooper, the Eagles’ second-year receiver, worked out constantly with Ingram in Gainesville during the lockout.

      “He loves this,” Cooper said. “He loves the game of football, and nothing was going to stop him from getting back healthy. When we were in Gainesville, he’d be the first one at the stadium ready to rock ‘n’ roll. He really wants to do this.

      “He’s been unfortunate with his knee, and he’s got this thing that he’s injury-prone, but he’s never had a sprained ankle or anything, just this knee. It’s really just one injury that he’s had to deal with for a long time. But he’s got a great work ethic and he’s ready to go, and everybody’s seeing now how far he’s come.”

      Ingram knows the numbers. He’s the fourth tight end right now. The Eagles will keep three.

      He doesn’t care. He doesn’t worry about the numbers. His only worry was his knee, and that’s no longer an issue.

      The roster?

      “I don’t even think about it,” he said. “Whenever I get my opportunity, I definitely have to take advantage of it. That’s just how this business goes. The most important thing is that I’m healthy and the coaches know that I’m healthy.

      “I’m always positive about the situation. Something will definitely work out.”

      E-mail Reuben Frank at [email protected]

      Comment


      • #4
        More fuel for the Ingram fetishists (like me)

        Maybe he makes the practice squad though, unless maybe he shows he can block well and/or play special teams.

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        • #5
          9/07/11 Update: Ingram signed to Lions practice squad.

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          • #6
            YPCM - you're killing me with these updates. I always forget to look at the date and think "wtf, they just cut him 3 days ago!"

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            • #7
              Originally posted by sfphillyfan View Post
              YPCM - you're killing me with these updates. I always forget to look at the date and think "wtf, they just cut him 3 days ago!"

              Comment


              • #8
                Anyone know...had the Birds run out of opportunities to put him back on the PS?

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                • #9
                  Spads said he was signed by the Cowpies.
                  http://shop.cafepress.com/content/global/img/spacer.gifOK, let's try this again...

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by tinopuno View Post
                    Anyone know...had the Birds run out of opportunities to put him back on the PS?
                    I didn't think it mattered which team you were on, you can only spend so much time on the PS in your career regardless of team. Correct me if I'm wrong.

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by tinopuno View Post
                      Anyone know...had the Birds run out of opportunities to put him back on the PS?
                      You're allowed there three years right? He was on IR one year and the PS parts of last year. So he probably still had eligibility. But I guess the team just hasn't seen enough since the injury...

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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by FRESH View Post
                        Spads said he was signed by the Cowpies.

                        Per Adam Caplan he was signed to the Lions PS

                        caplannflAdam Caplan



                        Former Eagles TE Cornelius Ingram was added to the Lions practice squad.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Damn Chris, be careful with these old posts. You've got me all screwed up. Granted, it's not hard to do!
                          "Hey Giants, who's your Daddy?"

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                          • #14
                            Originally posted by FairOaks View Post
                            You're allowed there three years right? He was on IR one year and the PS parts of last year. So he probably still had eligibility. But I guess the team just hasn't seen enough since the injury...
                            He was definitely eligible because now he's on the *Lions* practice squad.

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