GLENDALE, Ariz. — Mychal Kendricks made his long-anticipated return to the Eagles' defense but it's unclear when he'll return to his starting role.
Kendricks rotated in and out at inside linebacker against the Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium on Sunday, playing 22 snaps (31 percent of the defense) and making two tackles in the 24-20 loss. It was his first game action since he injured his calf Sept. 15 against the Colts.
The plan from the start was to play Kendricks on specific down and distances, especially to get the third-year linebacker involved in the pass rush, but Kendricks dropped few clues as to when he'd be ready for an expanded role.
"Yeah, you know, we'll take it one day at a time," he said.
Defensive coordinator Bill Davis seemed mildly encouraged about having his most athletic linebacker back on the field, even in limited doses.
"We were kind of feeling the way through and they were playing a lot of four- and five-wide receiver sets," Davis said. "It looked like he did OK and we'll see how he came out of it on the end."
The injury had shelved Kendricks for four straight games and forced Davis to fill the void with a rotation of mainly Emmanuel Acho and Casey Matthews. Not until this past week did Kendricks get back out to practice, but only as a limited participant, which explains why the coaches withheld him from starting.
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Ideally, Kendricks would be able to take on a larger role next Sunday in Houston against the Texans, but Kendricks said he's still in "the recovery phase" and will continue treatment Monday and beyond.
"Until they say I'm 100 percent, I'm gonna be in there getting treatment," he added.
Kendricks' injury has been a mystery since he limped off the Lucas Oil Stadium field against the Colts that Monday night in Indianapolis. After the game, Kendricks was spotted in good spirits and told some reporters that he had only suffered minor spasms.
Five weeks then passed before he returned to practice to do limited work.
Kendricks said he didn't realize the extent of the injury until the Tuesday following the Colts game, after having the calf further examined.
"Because I walked off the field. Stuff like that happens all the time, where guys just lock up," he said. "At the time, on the field, it just felt like a big cramp. So I’m self-diagnosing myself. I guess being a doctor isn't really in my future."