Makai Lemon is back on the field, and for the Eagles rookie wide receiver, the biggest challenge wasn’t just the hamstring injury itself. It was everything he missed while he was out.
Lemon returned as a full participant in practice on Monday for the first time since Aug. 3 after sitting out nearly three weeks of training camp with a nagging hamstring issue. During that stretch, new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion was installing most of his scheme, and Lemon was losing valuable work with quarterback Jalen Hurts.
Even so, the first-round pick kept coming back to the work he could still do in his head.
The No. 20 overall pick said he expects to be ready for Week 1 of the regular season on Sept. 13. When asked directly whether he’ll be able to make an impact in the opener, Lemon answered, “Of course,”
Last week, Lemon was listed as a “limited” participant in practice and did not play in the preseason game against the New England Patriots. He did not say whether he’ll be available for Friday’s preseason finale against the Bengals.
Lemon also confirmed Monday that this was the same hamstring that bothered him during spring practices.
The Eagles traded up for Lemon in the draft, and he has been viewed as a possible WR2 alongside DeVonta Smith this season. Still, Lemon said missing that much time was “definitely tough.”
Now, he’s focused on making sure it doesn’t happen again.
“I’m real competitive,” Lemon said. “I never want to be away from this game. So me knowing that it’s the hamstring again, it’s about making sure I’m taking the right precautions and I’m learning from it so it don’t happen again.”
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