Eagles defensive end Trent Cole will be trying to rebound from a down year in 2013 and he’ll also be trying to come back from hand surgery.
Mike Garafolo of USA Today reports via a source that Cole underwent an operation on his hand this week. Neither the Eagles nor Cole have released any information about a surgery, which was done to repair an injury that has bothered Cole for more than a year.
According to the report, the operation was not serious but it may cause Cole to miss some of the team’s work this spring. There’s no indication that it would prohibit him from taking part in any portion of training camp, which will be a crucial time for Cole if the Eagles do make the move to a 3-4 defense as many expect now that Billy Davis has been installed as the team’s defensive coordinator.
Cole slumped to three sacks in 2012 after three straight years with at least 10 sacks. It’s possible that Cole’s hand issue contributed to this drop since defensive linemen have to use their hands a lot in order to beat the men trying to block them, although it’s also possible that Cole’s production was impacted by the overall struggles of the Eagles defense.