Eagles QB Sam Bradford expected to return vs Patriots

PHILADELPHIA (AP) Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford is expected to return when Philadelphia visits the New England Patriots on Sunday.

Bradford is listed as probable on the injury report Friday. He missed the Eagles' last two games after sustaining a concussion and left shoulder injury in a 20-19 loss to the Miami Dolphins on Nov. 15.

''He's alive. He's good,'' Eagles coach Chip Kelly said. ''He threw (all week). Did a nice job. Again, I think it's the residual part of it: Is he any more sore?

''It's not anything that we're like, `Wow, that didn't go well.' He did a nice job, but again, we need to continue to see him progress and where that is in terms of him being able to sustain that, because that will give you a really good indication of him being able to go into a game and play. Obviously, we are not live in practice, so we are not hitting him and tackling him to the ground.''

Running back Ryan Mathews, who also suffered a concussion against Miami, is still out for the Eagles. Left tackle Jason Peters (back) and defensive end Cedric Thornton (ankle) are listed as questionable.

Bradford, who has completed 63.9 percent of his passes for 2,297 yards with 11 touchdowns and 10 interceptions for a quarterback rating of 82.4, was playing his best football as an Eagle before the injuries.

He threw the game-winning touchdown in overtime in a 33-27 win over the Dallas Cowboys, in which he completed 25 of 36 passes for 295 yards. And before getting hurt against Miami, he was 19 of 25 for 236 yards with a touchdown.

Mathews has not been cleared through the league's concussion protocol and will miss his third game.

Without Mathews, DeMarco Murray will get the bulk of the carries, with Darren Sproles and Kenjon Barner in reserve.

''We have less depth there and I think when we have been successful, we have two big, physical backs in there and we are missing a key cog in that right now,'' Kelly said. ''We have got to kind of make up without it, although I thought Kenjon, when he got in for kind of his first playing time against Detroit, did a nice job.''

Peters, who has been bothered by injuries all season, practiced all week. Thornton returned to practice Friday and was a full participant.

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