Vinny Curry’s rookie season hasn’t exactly developed the way he envisioned it. After all, he was a second-round draft pick and he expected to make an immediate impact with the Eagles.
Well, it was far from immediate, but Curry will finally get his chance -- he’ll suit up for a game for the first time this season when the Eagles play the Carolina Panthers on Monday night.
“I was disappointed I didn’t play before this, but I never got discouraged,’’ Curry said Wednesday. I didn’t allow myself to. I just told myself to keep working hard and eventually things will work out. And now I’m finally going to get a chance to show what I can do.”
Curry said he was never told why he was deactivated for every game, but he can count and he knows the Eagles are top heavy at defensive end, including two players who have played in multiple Pro Bowls, Trent Cole and Jason Babin. The Eagles also have Brandon Graham, a first-round pick in 2010, and veterans Darryl Tapp and Phillip Hunt.
“If we didn’t have all these great players in front of me, then I definitely would have been more bothered [by not playing],’’ he said. “But those guys helped me and encouraged me, and so did [tight end] Brent Celek. He made a point to tell me that I was improving every day and that I’d get my chance eventually. That meant a lot to me.’’
Celek goes against Curry frequently in practice since Curry usually lines up with the scout team, and he saw the rookie working hard and getting better and wanted to encourage him.
“I knew it was just a matter of time before he got on the field and I wanted to make sure he was ready when that opportunity came his way,’’ Celek said. “Vinny has a lot of talent and he’s going to play in this league for a long time. But when you’re a rookie, you sometimes have trouble seeing that big picture. I just tried to keep it in focus for him.”
For more up-to-the-minute news and analysis on the Philadelphia Eagles from blogger Kevin Noonan, follow@CBSEagles.
