It wasn't much. Not much at all.
Still, the sight of Terrell Owens wearing warmups at practice Thursday (Jan 20), catching some short passes and jogging around with the football should be awfully interesting to Eagles fans.
About an hour into practice in the Eagles' indoor facility adjacent to the NovaCare Complex, Owens began catching some 10- and 12-yard passes from trainer Rick Burkholder along the right sideline while practice continued nearby.
He wasn't quite running after the catch, but he was moving faster than a walk for maybe three or four strides after he caught each ball. Call it an easy jog, sustained for several strides.
With no apparent pain or discomfort.
Owens would stop, turn around, then toss the ball back to Burkholder and do it again.
This continued for about 10 minutes and Owens did not appear discouraged afterwards. For the record, he didn't drop any.
Owens broke his fibula and sustained a severe high ankle sprain during the Eagles' win over the Cowboys at the Linc on Dec. 19. He underwent surgery three days later, began rehabbing a couple days after that, and as recently as 10 days ago was on crutches.
Thursday, less than a month after having two screws inserted to stabalize his ankle, he took another significant step toward a possible return.
Owens is listed as out for the NFC Championship Game on Sunday at the Linc, but if the Eagles get past this weekend, the chance remains that he'll be able to line up and play in some role in Super Bowl XXXIX on Feb. 6 in Jacksonville. He's still considered a long shot for the Super Bowl, now just 16 days away, and some ginger straight-line jogging is a long way from playing pro football. But Thursday certainly seemed like a positive sign.
Although not all practices are open to the media, those who are allowed into each practice said that Thursday was the first session in which Owens moved around and caught passes.
Source: phillyburbs.com
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