J.R. Reed still hopes for big return

From the Allentown Morning Call:

Eagles' Reed still hoping for a big return

Philadelphia Eagles kickoff return specialist and backup safety J.R. Reed is the 2004 fourth-round draft pick who called the Eagles with bad news only a couple of weeks after their Super Bowl loss to the New England Patriots.

Reed told coach Andy Reid he had severed the peroneal nerve behind his left knee while scaling a fence at his Tampa Bay home, and doctors considered the injury career-threatening.

''When it happened, I was like, 'Just let me need stitches,''' said Reed, who averaged 23.1 yards per kick return during his rookie 2004 season. ''But I tried to run and I fell. My foot wouldn't work. I was hoping it just fell asleep for a second, and that it wasn't that bad. I was just hoping it needed to wake back up.''
The news is not much better 11 months later.

''I'm scheduled for surgery in February,'' Reed said. ''After that, I have to hope it heals. Hopefully, it feels good for me, a miracle will happen, and I'll be back on the field."

Reed said the surgery in February is actually the first of two he will have to endure in a six-month span if he is to have any chance of playing football again.

Reed said he was so frustrated by the injury that he stayed as far away as possible from the 2005 Eagles.