The Eagles have announced that cornerback Ellis Hobbs has undergone surgery to repair a herniated disk in his neck.
The injury occurred on November 8. Hobbs landed on injured reserve three days later.
Specifically, the procedure is known as “anterior cervical decompression and fusion,” and Dr. Alexander Vaccaro of Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia performed the procedure.
“Hobbs is expected to make a full recovery and return to the field next season,” the team said in a release.
Of course, “next season” might entail Hobbs playing with another team. The third-round pick in the 2005 draft, whose contract was traded to the Eagles from the Patriots, currently is scheduled to be a restricted free agent. To retain his rights, the Eagles will have to sign him to a new deal, or apply one of the various RFA tenders.
If a new labor agreement is reached by March 2010, Hobbs would be an unrestricted free agent -- unless the union agrees to different free agency rules in the new CBA.