Zach Pascal Missed First TC Practice with Food Poisoning

PHILADELPHIA - Eagles receiver Zach Pascal missed the Eagles' first training camp practice on Wednesday with an undisclosed non-COVID illness.

The veteran cleared things up on social media Thursday noting that he has been suffering from a case of food poisoning.

"Wouldnt wish food poison on no man," Pascal wrote on Twitter.

The Eagles scaled back to a walkthrough session on Thursday and will be back on the practice field Friday morning for the first of two consecutive practices before an off-day Sunday.

It remains to be seen if Pascal is well enough to participate with temperatures expected to reach near 90 degrees in South Philadelphia.

A Nick Sirianni favorite, Pascal, 27, signed a one-year deal with the Eagles this offseason.

The Eagles' head coach has often spoken highly of Pascal's professionalism and work ethic from their time together with the Indianapolis Colts.

Pascal is penciled in by most observers as WR4 behind A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, and Quez Watkins but there is wiggle room for significant playing time depending on the weekly game plans as well as where the Eagles stand on the scoreboard.

As a bigger WR with excellent blocking skills, Pascal figures to get more time when the Philadelphia offense plans to be more run-heavy or late in games if the Eagles are trying to protect leads.

The wild card in Aaron Moorehead's WR room figures to be 2020 first-round pick Jalen Regaor, who has significant talent but has struggled over his first two professional campaigns.

Written off by most, Reagor has little pressure on him any longer and excelled on Day 1 of training camp when playing against the second- and third-team cornerbacks.

Pascal, an Old Dominion product, has played four professional seasons and has had some production, hauling in 150 receptions and 15 career touchdowns.

Along with the Pascal illness, the Eagles were dealing with the aftermath of some recent COVID cases on Wednesday.

Both Jason Kelce and rookie receiver Keric Wheatfall missed practice en route to their progression back from the virus while veterans Fletcher Cox and Anthony Harris were limited and did not participate in team drills.

Cox, though, said after practice that he was feeling better.

"I got pretty sick about a week and a half ago," Cox said. "Just taking the steps to getting me back to where I was. Just being smart about it, working me in. I'm starting to feel a lot better than I did this time last week, so that's a good sign."

-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's Eagles Today and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Sports. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talker Jody McDonald, every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube.com and JAKIBSports.com. You can reach John at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen