Sam Bradford has good feelings about state of repaired knee

PHILADELPHIA --Eaglesquarterback Sam Bradford's comeback from ACL surgery continued with a fourth day of training camp practice. Bradford finished the day optimistic about his surgically repaired left knee.

"I think I feel better than what I was expecting," Bradford said after the Eagles' Thursday practice. "I thought my knee would hold up, but I wasn't sure. I hadn't put it through four days of practice coming into camp. But the way my knee feels right now, it feels great. I'm really happy with where I'm at right now."

Bradford is not wearing the brace he used during official team activities and the June minicamp. He is taking part in every drill, usually running with the first team on offense.

"We talked about that from day one, when I wasn't taking reps at OTAs," Bradford said. "The goal was to be ready for training camp. When it got here, I was going to be able to go out there and not be limited. That's where we've been so far. For me, I need the reps."

Two of the Eagles' other high-profile additions did not practice Thursday. Running back DeMarco Murray reported to the Eagles' training facility, the NovaCare Complex, with an illness. He was sent home, Eagles coach Chip Kelly told ESPN's Sal Paolantonio. Murray did not practice Sunday, the first day of camp, because of concerns about dehydration.

Inside linebacker Kiko Alonso, acquired from Buffalo in exchange for LeSean McCoy, was not at practice. Kelly told Paolantonio that Alonso had a concussion. It was not clear when Alonso was injured.

The Eagles had not practiced since Tuesday's public session at Lincoln Financial Field. The team was off on Wednesday.

It was not clear how much time Murray or Alonso might miss. For now, though, Bradford is planning to be on the field every day. His knee has felt fine even though he has been flushed from the pocket a few times and forced to run, he said.

"I felt pretty good about that," Bradford said. "We tried to simulate that. But it's hard to simulate those game situations. We can do a little bit of that in practice. But you can't simulate when the pocket breaks down and I've got to make a hard hitch and scramble. I've been in a few of those situations so far, and I've found my knee has held its own.

"It's crazy. It seems like just yesterday I was in Cleveland, walking to the locker room. I thought this day would never come. But here we are, a little over a week away [from the preseason opener] -- we'll get out there and play some real football."