Philadelphia Eagles: Timmy Jernigan has been cleared to practice

Six months after undergoing back surgery, Timmy Jernigan has officially been cleared to return to practice with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Don’t look now, Philly fans, but after trading a third-round pick to acquire Golden Tate at the trade deadline, it seems like the Philadelphia Eagles defense may also be receiving a noticeable facelift coming out of their bye week.

And this familiar face’s return could not be more welcomed.

After undergoing a back surgery back in May, Timmy Jernigan has officially been cleared to return to practice by the Birds medical staff and took part in Monday’s walkthrough according to the team’s official website.

While this news doesn’t necessarily mean that Timmy will be back on the field come the Eagles Week 10 return against the Dallas Cowboys, in a game that could go a long way to determining who owns the soul of the NFC East this season, it does mean that he can be activated from IR within the next 21 days and officially return to the field for action by Week 13 at the latest.

But no matter when Jernigan ultimately returns to the field, one thing is clear: he will be welcomed back with wide open arms.

Between the release of Destiny Vaeao, the release of Bruce Hector, and the nagging injuries that have limited Haloti Ngata to only five games so far this season, the Eagles have been forced to keep Fletcher Cox on the field for over 90 percent of their defensive snaps, with his interior partner being shuffled in and out without much luck. With Jernigan back on the court, Philly will once again have two dominant D tackles with shore up their interior and collapse the pocket on opposing quarterbacks, and shift Treyvon Hester into a rotational player, as opposed to essentially a starter.

Even though the trade deadline has already passed, this is an addition that should certainly help to bolster the Eagles playoff chances considerably down the stretch, and maybe provide that spark of energy the team has desperately been seeking over the last few weeks.