Jerome McDougle

Jerome McDougle Update

Defensive end Jerome McDougle suffered a triceps strain and will undergo an MRI today.

(phillyburbs.com)

Jerome McDougle Update

Jerome McDougle, DE -- The Eagles traded up to select the former University of Miami standout with the 15th overall pick in the 2003 NFL draft, but his pro career seemed doomed from the start. McDougle skipped out on the first week of training camp to get a six-year contract from the Eagles that included $6.122 million in bonuses. McDougle suffered injuries to his ankle, knee and hip in the final preseason game of his rookie year against the Jets at Lincoln Financial Field and missed the first eight games.

In 2004, McDougle first was put on the shelf with an irregular heartbeat, then lost four games to a sprained knee. He missed all of 2005 after being shot in the abdo men during a robbery attempt near his home in Miami on the eve of training camp. He saw his most action last season, but over a most forgettable four-year career in which he has never started a game, McDougle has just 23 solo tackles and three sacks. The Eagles likely will begin the season with 10 defensive linemen.

McDougle is not expected to be one of them.

(nj.com)

McDougle still confident he can make plays - Johnson: Oft-injured end 'doing much be

BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- During training camp, NFL players are forced to fight for everything. Fight to impress the coaching staff. Fight to move up the depth chart. Fight to survive team cuts.

Jerome McDougle has faced much bigger fights in his life. He has had to fight for his life.

The Eagles defensive end was shot in the abdomen in a car robbery attempt just before the start of training camp in 2005. He sat out the entire season but was able to make a full recovery and play in 2006.

That experience has given McDougle a different outlook on football.

"It puts it in perspective," McDougle said. "When you go through something like that, that's real life. Football is just a part of your life. You still have your family, you still have your loved ones, and after football you're still going to have a life."

Now, McDougle has another fight ahead of him -- the fight for a roster spot.

Minicamp offers tale of 2 linemen

One guy coming back, one guy maybe heading out.

As the Eagles completed their first minicamp last week, Jevon Kearse emerged from the last practice downright giddy. He's coming back from knee surgery, and he looks good and feels healthy -- and he's looking forward to the future.

"I feel like it's my rookie season now," Kearse said.

As Kearse was talking, all smiles and expectation, Jerome McDougle slung a bag over his shoulder and walked quietly to the door. McDougle has spent four disappointing years as an Eagle, since the team traded up to draft him in the first round in 2003.

He's managed just 32 solo tackles and three sacks in a career marred by injury -- including a gunshot wound that cost him the entire 2005 season.
Today he looks good and feels healthy, but McDougle's future is far more uncertain.

"There's a reason for everything," McDougle said. "Maybe God has got a plan for me, and sometime in the near future I'll know what that is."

McDougle, Moats might have to face the music

Dead men walking?

Even if they are, there isn't much Ryan Moats and Jerome McDougle can do about it, except work their hardest and hope for the best.

Moats and McDougle don't seem to figure into the Eagles' 2007 plans, unless other players are injured or they are able to produce some sort of miraculous, 11th-hour revival of their faded promise.