Philadelphia Eagles rookie safety Andrew Mukuba has been sidelined from training camp practice with a shoulder injury, but he's looking on the brighter side of things.
“I wouldn’t really look at it as a setback,” Mukuba told reporters, via NBC Sports' Dave Zangaro. “I feel like everybody’s journey is different. Like I mentioned earlier, this just gives me time to improve my knowledge and improve the mental side of the game to where when I come back on the field, a lot of things are going to be easier for me. I wouldn’t say it’s a setback. But just also, another time for me to learn in a different way.”
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni explained earlier this month how important it is for players, especially rookies, to not miss training camp practice. Of course, it's hard to completely stop injuries from happening, but the Eagles have a clear plan in place when that does.
“It’s our job just to make sure that anybody who misses time, they recoup those reps somehow, some way. And when they can’t do it physically, it’s got to be mentally in the film room and in walkthrough," Sirianni said.
For Mukuba, making up for those reps looks like asking Eagles veteran Reed Blankenship a ton of questions.
“I just be trying to bug Reed,” Mukuba said. “I be asking him a lot of questions, I won’t shut up around him because I just want to be a guy who learns more. And kind of pick his brain a little bit more because he’s a guy that’s been doing this for a while at a very, very high level. I can’t shut up around Reed. I feel like I gotta ask him something every second.”
The Eagles play their first preseason game on Thursday against the Cincinnati Bengals, and it's likely fans will have to wait to see Mukuba in action, but at least they know he's not wasting any time on the sidelines.
