Philadelphia Eagles

Kiko Alonso a full participant during Eagles' OTAs so far

Published May. 31, 2015 9:31 p.m. ET

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There was some uncertainty surrounding Kiko Alonso's return to the football field after missing the entire 2014 season with a torn ACL. After the Philadelphia Eagles wrapped up their first set of OTAs last Friday, that uncertainty has all but washed away. Alonso was a full participant during every practice, and he even felt comfortable shedding his knee brace.

"I honestly didn't think I'd be doing this much," Alonso said to Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Daily Inquirer. "I've just been going on how I feel, and it's feeling really good.

"I feel comfortable without it. I never really liked wearing the brace."

Full practice participant? Check. No knee brace? Check. However, Alonso's path toward winning the starting inside linebacker job might not be as straight forward. Alonso joins a crowded inside linebacker group that includes 2014 starters DeMeco Ryans and Mychal Kendricks. Ryans finished the season on injured reserve, but both players were plus starters when they were on the field.

Eagles' head coach Chip Kelly refused to offer any clarity on which two players would emerge as starters, but he did offer some logic on why he made the move to add players at inside linebacker.

"We're just trying to get everybody up to speed and teaching Kiko the defense," Kelly said. "Mychal and DeMeco have both done an outstanding job when they've been here.

"We thought it was a priority for us, especially because of the injuries we had at inside linebacker, to improve our depth there. Drafting Jordan, to go back, Najee who missed the entire year last year, throw him in there with Acho, and then we got Brad Jones in the offseason, was a priority for us. The fact that we have some guys that can play is a positive for us."

If Alonso can carry this momentum through the next set of OTAs and into training camp, the starting job should be his before long. Alonso won the defensive Rookie of the Year award in 2013 after 159 tackles, four interceptions and two sacks.

(h/t Philadelphia Daily Inquirer)

Photo Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig/USA TODAY Sports