Eagles Notes: Eagles running back Bell hurt again

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Eagles running back Mike Bell, who only recently returned from a hamstring injury, had to be carted off the field again Sunday at Lehigh University, this time with a right calf strain.

Bell appeared despondent when he emerged from the locker room after the morning practice, moving with a pronounced limp and talking politely to reporters but staring into the distance in obvious frustration.

He has struggled with injuries throughout his career.

"You put so much into it and something happens that you can't control, you kind of lose it," Bell said.

As he spoke, the back who may battle him for carries, Eldra Buckley, emerged from the locker room and sat down nearby as both waited for rides back to the Eagles' dorms.

Bell, a former New Orleans Saint who was signed in the off-season to provide a powerful complement to LeSean McCoy, tried to stress positives, saying the injury would provide a test of his mental strength and maturity. And he was thankful that it was a muscle strain rather than a season-ending injury such as a torn Achilles tendon or knee ligament.

Bell was hurt on a running play early in practice. He was taken into the trainer's tent midway through the workout and limped to a cart before being driven away, visibly upset.

Two years ago, Denver and Houston released Bell after he was injured and fell out of favor. He was clearly worried about a similar fate in Philadelphia when he first hurt his left hamstring.

He impressed during the first few days of camp, but had not returned to full-contact drills since.

Sick bay

Safety Quintin Demps, who left Friday's preseason win against Jacksonville early, has a bone bruise on his left knee and "should be on the mend pretty quick," coach Andy Reid said.

Safety Antoine Harris suffered a Lisfranc foot sprain in the game and was placed on injured reserve.

With Demps and Harris out, the Eagles worked out two safeties - Jamaal Fudge, a four-year veteran who last played in Atlanta, and Terrell Skinner, an undrafted rookie out of Maryland.

Extra points