Mike Patterson To Play Vs. Browns; Maclin Among Eagles Ruled Out

Less than a month after questions arose about his brain condition, which was said to require surgery or even radiation treatment, Eagles DT Mike Patterson is scheduled to play in Thursday’s preseason game vs. the Browns.

“He kept himself in good shape,” Coach Andy Reid said about Patterson. “We’ll treat him like it’s the first preseason game that he’s played. A little bit like I did with DeSean [Jackson] last week. Just limit his reps and see how he’s doing. Communicate with him during the game, see how he’s feeling.”

In related news, the Eagles have ruled out several well-known starters for the game against Cleveland. Wide receiver Jeremy Maclin, who was just recently cleared to return to the field after suffering from an illness, won’t be suiting up. Ditto for pass rusher Juqua Parker, defensive tackle Antonio Dixon, and offensive tackle Ryan Harris, who will be replaced by King Dunlap in the starting lineup.

Mike Patterson Fully Cleared And Back At Practice

Less than three weeks ago Mike Patterson collapsed on the practice fields at Lehigh with a seizure. Two days later diagnosed with AVM, which is a tangle of blood vessels near his brain. Today, he’s was back in practice.

Patterson was cleared last week to return to the team to start conditioning work and today was the first time he was allowed to participate in practice. He is not sure however, whether he will play this Thursday. At this point, Patterson says he just has to work on getting his fitness level to where it needs to be, but he’s not far off.

“I’m not too far off. But it’s football so everything takes practice and time and stuff like that. So I just need to be patient and continue to work on the things that I need to work on and listen to the coaching staff.”

Typically starters do not play in the fourth and final preseason game, but Patterson said he’d be happy to do it if Andy Reid felt like he wanted to see him in game action. However, it will be Reid’s decision as to whether that is the case.

Patterson plans to have the AVM treated after the season, meaning he will be playing with it this year. As a congenital issue, it’s not any more or less likely to be an issue for him whether he plays football or not. He says it won’t be a distraction for him.

“No, just because you know it’s two separate things. You just know that they’re just trying to see how you’re doing health-wise and stuff like that and football’s a whole different thing. So it’s easy to focus.”

“That’s the good thing about football, it’s easy to zone everything out and just go out there and play.”

Eagles' Mike Patterson Cleared To Play Despite Brain AVM

Just over two weeks ago Eagles DT Mike Patterson collapsed during practice and experienced a seizure on the field. Sooner after he was diagnosed with a brain AVM. Read more on that here. However, after going through a battery of tests and speaking with doctors Patterson has been cleared to play football.

"It most definitely is an AVM [arteriovenus malformation]." Patterson said, "I have to get it taken care of eventually, but there is no big risk right now. I don’t have to worry about it. The good thing is I’m still talking to doctors and figuring out how to take care of it, but there is no risk as far as football is concerned so I’m happy about that."

This was not a decision made lightly either. According to Eagles head athletic trainer Rick Burkholder, no less than four doctors signed off Patterson being safe to return.

"Before he returned to practice today, over the last eight to ten days, he has physically seen three AVM specialists, and had his studies sent to another one. All four of those physicians have dealt with Mike, his family, [Team Internist] Dr. [Gary] Dorshimer, and Mike also saw a seizure specialist here in Philadelphia. Right now he was cleared to return to practice."

So to be clear, he will play with the AVM and then has a number of options on how to deal with it at the end of the season. Patterson also said that he plans on being ready for week one this year..

"I’m planning on it. I’m really planning on it, so we’ll see what happens. Right now, the coaches are doing everything right and the trainers are doing good. I really appreciate all the doctors that helped me out, especially all the fans who’ve sent me messages, too. We’re taking it one day at a time and taking extra precautions to make sure everything is safe. You don’t want to go out there and risk anything."

Given how the Eagles played the run last week against the Steelers, they could certainly use a run stopper like Patterson back in middle. Really though, it’s just great news that the condition isn’t going to threaten Patterson’s life or career. In a double dose of a good news. Jeremy Maclin also returned to practice today after he was given a clean bill health following a summer long cancer scare.

Mike Patterson Back At Eagles Practice

Nearly 10 days ago Eagles DT Mike Patterson collapsed on the practice field at Lehigh a suffered a seizure lasting about four minutes. About two days later he was given a preliminary diagnosis of AVM, which is a tangle of blood vessels outside his brain. It's a condition a person is born with and has a wide range of treatment options. Depending on where the AVM is located it could take anything from a very minor procedure to treat, to potentially major surgery. Apparently though, the prognosis is quite good. His agent, JR Rickert said in a statement yesterday that they received good news from a specialist and that it is "very likely" that Patterson will play this year.

"All the medical reports that we both looked at have been very favorable and positive. We’re just waiting for the doctors to make their final diagnosis, and their final treatment plan,"

Rickert said that there would be a further update on his condition Monday, but Patterson appeared back in practice this morning at Lehigh. Patterson was in uniform doing individual drills, but wasn't a participant in practice. Andy Reid said that he would continue to do conditioning drills until he's cleared to return to full practice. Either way, it's a very encouraging sign not only for Mike Patterson's life, but the chances of him playing football this season.

Andy Reid said that he would be doing conditioning for a about a week, then could be back practicing.

"He's going to do that and he's got to get himself back into shape. It'll probably be a week or so as we're looking at it now. It gives the doctors a chance to continue to evaluate him and for him to get back to where he feels he can get back out there and play."

MIke Patterson Back At Camp, Will See Neurologist Tomorrow

Mike Patterson’s agent, JR Rickert called in to ESPN’s SportsCenter today to update the condition of Mike Patterson and had some good news to share. He says that after the initial diagnosis of AVM, they sought out two other medical opinions and neither could conclusively confirm that diagnosis. They did not rule it out as a possibility, but they can’t conclude that AVM is what he has.

Patterson will now go see a neurologist about the seizure he had and based on what he finds, that neurologist has the ability to clear Mike to return to team activities.

“All three medical opinions have said that the condition he has, whatever it may be, is treatable.” Rickert said this afternoon, “Again, we have to sit down and come to a conclusion as to what that is and how to treat it. The neurologist is the key part of this and that’s why he’s going to that appointment tomorrow. Once the neurologist evaluates the cause of the seizure and the proper treatment and the neurologist sign off that it’s not something that will prevent him from playing football, that’s when we’ll get back to work.”

Obviously it would be fantastic news to see Patterson back on the field so quickly, but it would be even better to learn that his condition is not something that is career threatening or life-altering.

Eagles' Mike Patterson Diagnosed With Brain AVM

Midway through the morning session of yesterday’s practice at Eagles camp, defensive tackle Mike Patterson collapsed on the field shortly after a drill. According to reports, he experienced a seizure lasting four minutes, during which he bit his tongue, causing bleeding from his mouth. The whole scene shook up the team and Patterson was taken away in an ambulance.

After being taken to the hospital, doctors diagnosed Patterson with AVM or arteriovenous malformation. Eagles trainer Rick Burkholder explained what that means.

“Mike has a congenital tangle of blood vessels right outside his brain,” Burkholder said. “We’re pretty sure that’s what caused the seizure, we’re pretty sure it’s not football related, and now the next course for Mike is that they’ll continue to do testing, possibly some at Lehigh Valley, possibly some in Philadelphia."

Les Bowen of Philly.com spoke with a Princeton neurosurgeon, who also happens to be an Eagles fan at Lehigh this week, who shed a little more light on what AVM is and how it happens.

“It’s congenital, not anything that would have been caused by playing football. Oftentimes what happens is, under certain conditions such as stress, dehydration, trauma, and whatnot, these things can tend to hemorrhage. The good thing is, it doesn’t sound like he had a brain hemorrhage.” (The Eagles said tests yesterday showed no bleeding on the brain.)"

In many ways, that makes it even scarier to know that Patterson has been playing football his whole life with this condition and really could have never even know about it.

Treatments for AVM range from radiation from a “gamma knife,” all the way to removing part of the skull for surgery. The most common treatment is much like the way a doctor would use a stent to open up an artery. Doctors can through a blood vessel elsewhere in the body to get to AVM and treat it. It all really depends on where it is located and how sensitive the area is. The latter treatment would likely not be career threatening for Patterson, but the others certainly could be.

There had been some reports that Patterson would need surgery, but his agent JR Rickert said in a statement that those reports were incorrect. In fact, he says the diagnosis isn’t even official.

Media reports are not accurate. Mike has not yet decided on surgery. He has not received an official diagnosis of a brain AVR and is continuing to be evaluated by multiple doctors. Once we know the course of treatment and timetable for recovery, Mike and his wife Bianca will decide how to proceed.

Obviously it’s a very serious situation either way.