DTs Fletcher Cox, Tim Jernigan miss Eagles practice; DBs Corey Graham, Jaylen Watkins return

The Eagles practiced Wednesday without starting defensive tackles Fletcher Cox and Tim Jernigan.

Cox has a calf injury that kept him out last week against the Los Angeles Chargers. Coach Doug Pederson said Cox is "day-to-day" and "progressing." Jernigan has a heel contusion. Although Jernigan missed practice, Pederson said he's not in jeopardy of missing Sunday's game against the Arizona Cardinals.

The good news on the injury front is that defensive backs Corey Graham and Jaylen Watkins returned to practice after missing two games with hamstring injuries. Pederson said both players would be limited at practice.

"We're starting to get some guys back here this week," Pederson said. "It would be a huge benefit to the defense to get Corey in there, see how he is today. And it does give Malcolm [Jenkins] some flexibility to move down into the box and play some nickel if need to."

Cornerback Ronald Darby is improving in his recovery from a Week 1 ankle injury. The initial prognosis was 4-6 weeks, and Pederson said the hope is Darby returns when the Eagles get past the six-game mark.

"That's kind of the target deadline, if there is one," Pederson said. "But I'm not going to hold it as a hard deadline. I'm not going to put him in a box. These things take time. You saw the replay and you saw the ankle. It just takes time."