Mon Jun 11 19:04:17 2007

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McNabb makes first practice appearance

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Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb participated in his first practice with the team on Monday. He had surgery last November after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee and missed the remainder of the season.

McNabb participated in team drills, took a limited number of snaps and threw some passes to test the strength of his right leg.

"It felt great to get back out there on the field with all of the guys," said McNabb. "It's just part of the rehab process and hopefully good things will continue to come. It is important to continue to monitor my progress, but also be smart about the whole situation."

McNabb had been throwing on the side for weeks, doing individual movement drills and simulating practice experiences, but had not participated in any team activities until Monday.

"He's where we hoped he would be. He worked very hard to get to this spot, so we let him test it out today," said Eagles coach Andy Reid. "We didn't give him too much. We want to make sure he can move around tomorrow, if possible. So we gave him a few shots and got him back to the ice tub."

He suffered the injury during a 31-13 loss to Tennessee on November 19, 2006.

The mishap occurred when he rolled out to his right on 2nd-and-10, was bumped as he released the ball and landed awkwardly out of bounds. He was unable to put pressure on his right leg after the play, and was carted off the field.

Surgery was performed two weeks later in Birmingham, Alabama by Dr. James Andrews, who reconstructed the QB's ACL while also repairing some meniscus damage.

In his eight seasons in the NFL, all with the Eagles, McNabb has played in 104 games, 98 starts, and has thrown for 22,080 yards with a 58.2 percent completion percentage and 152 touchdowns along with 72 interceptions.