After the afternoon session, Allen said: "It was a good day . . . I'll probably be [asleep] by 10 o'clock; I didn't get any nap today. I'm running on fumes right now, but you gotta do it."
Tuesday, as his contract was being hashed out, Allen spoke with Coleman and another roommate in his suite, rookie corner Trevard Lindley, via text about Tuesday's intial rookie workouts.
"I was just asking them how practice was," Allen said. "It was killing me."
Coleman said he told Allen to "get your rest while you can, 'cause it's a grind."
The 1-day absence was insignificant - as coach Andy Reid confirmed, it did nothing to change Allen's role as the starting free safety going forward. But Allen did become the first Eagles second-rounder to miss any training-camp time since ill-fated linebacker Quinton Caver in 2001. It might have been longer than that since a rookie taken below the first round came into camp as a starter. Allen, from South Florida, was drafted 37th overall, with the pick the Birds got from the Redskins for Donovan McNabb.
"Every rep counts, and I knew that sitting at home. I was talking to my agent, pushing him like, 'Hey, when's a deal going to get done?' " Allen said, describing an experience totally foreign to reporters trying to follow the situation, an actual conversation with agent Todd France. "I was just ready to get up here and start working. I felt like I was getting behind, but I'm glad to be up here finally."
Reid, who spoke after the morning session, said Allen "didn't look like he had lost much from the mental standpoint. We threw a few different formations at him and he seemed to make all the adjustments well. He's making most of the calls back there."
