Carol Cullen served as an executive assistant with the Philadelphia Eagles from 1985 to 2014 before former head coach Chip Kelly decided her position was no longer necessary in his management of the front office.

Despite not being a staff member during the Eagles run to their first Super Bowl victory in February Alex DeBrincat Jersey , the team elected to award her with a ring anyway.

According to Tim McManus of ESPN.com, Cullen got an email from the team while at her new job telling her she would be getting a championship ring. She thought the message was sent in error before a team employee confirmed she would be getting a ring and they needed to get her fitted.

Cullen has been with the Eagles through the coaching runs of Marion Campbell, Fred Bruney, Buddy Ryan, Rich Kotite, Ray Rhodes, Andy Reid and Kelly before being unceremoniously told Kelly no longer has use for her.

“It was very difficult,” she said. “I had no idea it was coming, so it was very emotional for me. And it took me a while to get over it and get used to another life Michael Hutchinson Jersey , really, because when you work in football like that, it’s not 9 to 5 — it’s seven days a week, and I loved every minute of it.”

She kept in touch with head coach Doug Pederson, general manager Howie Roseman and other members of the Eagles that she worked with during his 29 years with the franchise. Ultimately, someone with pull determined she needed to get a ring along with the rest of the players, coaches, front office and support personnel still working for the team.

“It was really a special night,” Cullen said after getting her new piece of jewelry last week. “And I just feel honored and humbled that I was a part of it.”

SPARTANBURG Womens Derek Dorsett Jersey , S.C. (AP) Panthers coach Ron Rivera may have figured out the only way to avoid injuries to key players in training camp.

”Not practice,” Rivera said after Wednesday’s practice.

The Panthers are less than a week into training camp but have already lost two key players to potential season-ending injuries.

Right tackle Daryl Williams, a second-team All-Pro last season, dislocated his patella and tore his medial collateral ligament during blocking drills on Saturday. Two days later, cornerback Ross Cockrell broke two bones in his leg while trying to break up a pass in the end zone during 11-on-11 team drills.

The Panthers aren’t the only team hurting.

The Green Bay Packers have lost inside linebacker Jake Ryan and safety Kentrell Brice to severe leg injuries, while Los Angeles Chargers cornerback Jason Verrett also went down. Other teams have lost important players to injuries, too.

It’s nothing new, of course.

Injuries happen every year in training camp, a reminder of the fine line coaches must walk between preparing their team for the physicality of the regular season and avoiding injuries to key players that can derail a season.

”If you look at what happened (with our injuries) the truth of the matter is there is nothing you can do about it Jake DeBrusk Jersey ,” Rivera said. ”That was a freak injury for Ross where the receiver was falling to the ground and he happened to step into it and got rolled up. Daryl was kick-sliding and turned his ankle and came down on it.”

Rivera said injuries are the ”unfortunate nature of this game.”

Still, as a coach he is always looking for ways to prevent them, constantly telling players to ”be smart” on the field.

He did that prior to Wednesday morning’s practice on a slick field at Wofford College following overnight rain.

”I told the defensive backs and the linebackers, `Hey, let’s be smart about the receivers crossing because we don’t want to catch anybody in a bad spot,” Rivera said.

Some injuries can be prevented.

That’s why Rivera and his assistants were unhappy with rookie safety Rashaan Gaulden earlier this week he knocked wide receiver Jarius Wright to the ground in the back of the end zone with a vicious blow to the upper body – one that might have collected a fine from the league had it happened in a game situation. Wright remained on the ground for almost a minute before getting up.

He returned to practice a short while later.

Panthers wide receiver Devin Funchess immediately yelled at Gaulden after the play, saying ”that’s what we talked about – you have to know better.”

Coaches later called Gaulden aside to reprimand him.

”Hey, that’s going to be very suspect because it falls right into the ram, butt and spear idea of using the helmet Craig Smith Jersey ,” Rivera said. ”So we’ve got to make sure these young people understand it.”

Overall, Panthers left Matt Kalil said that ”sometimes you just can’t control” injuries.

”You want to play aggressive out here and you want to go full speed and get a game-time simulation,” Kalil said. ”We want to be smart. I think what we can do as veterans, and as players, is we have a guy who is about to fall we want to keep him up and keep him off the ground. But it’s hard because there are a lot of guys flying around out here.”

Panthers cornerback James Bradberry said there is a contact on every play.

”It’s very tough because one of the key components of making a Super Bowl run is having everybody healthy. And when you have prominent guys go down, it’s tough,” Bradberry said. ”You’ve just got to have that next-man-up mentality. And that’s what we have here.”

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