BLOOMINGTON, MINN. >> Twice is not enough for Chris Long, who plans to climb Mount Kilimanjaro for a third time this summer to raise money for his charity.
The climb to the top of the 16,100-foot mountain, the tallest in Tanzania, will include former Eagles Connor Barwin and Vince Young and Armed Forces veterans.
The proceeds benefit the Waterboys’ program that provides clean, accessible drinking water to rural areas in East Africa.
If the Eagles defeat the Patriots Sunday in Super Bowl LII, Long might want to stay on the mountain.
Full of adrenaline after joining the Eagles, he promised to add a tattoo of Eagles linebackers coach Ken Flajole to his frame should the Birds claim the Lombardi Trophy.
“Coach Flajole and I spent a bunch of years together in St. Louis,” said Long, who earned a Super Bowl ring with the Patriots last year. “And he goes, ‘Hey man, you’re going to win two in a row.’ And I was like, ‘If we win two in a row I’ll get a tattoo of Ken Flajole.’ And I was joking. But he held me to it and he reminded me this week.
“It will be a good problem to have.”
Long is running out of real estate for tattoos, the decorations pretty much blanketing his arms and torso.
The location of the new one is TBD.
“Man, I’m just going to hide his ugly mug,” Long said. “I don’t know where it’s going to be. But we’ve got to worry about winning the game, first.”
Beating the Patriots, who are four-point favorites, figures to be a lot easier said than tattooed.
“It’s going to be a hell of a down-to-the-wire type of game,” Long said. “The Patriots are kind of a model franchise. They’ve been here so many times. They’ve played in a bunch of competitive, tight games in the Super Bowl. They’re really good at playing mistake-free, not to mention they’ve got the best quarterback of all time, the best coach of all time.”
Long declined to delve into his decision to bag a trip to the White House should the Birds win the Lombardi.
“I was answering a hypothetical question, which obviously we have to win the game,” Long said. “But I didn’t go last year so I don’t know why people were so shocked. It’s not a big deal. I don’t expect anybody would care what I think. I don’t care what you think, let me think what I think, and I want to go play a football game.”
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The illness that affected the Eagles last week still is making the rounds.
Defensive tackle Tim Jernigan sat out practice Wednesday due to sickness.
Head coach Doug Pederson previously was slowed by illness.
The rest of the Eagles practiced fully, including running back Jay Ajayi (ankle) and defensive tackle Fletcher Cox, who answered questions during the media availability with a colorful Kelly-green ski mask etched with Eagles lettering.
According to a pool report, the Eagles practiced the extended halftime break by stopping practice at 3 p.m., waiting a half hour and starting up again.
“I think it’s important that the guys get it in their minds how much time that is,” Pedersen told the pool reporter, “We’re normally working on a 13, 14-minute halftime and now it’s twice as long and guys’ bodies cool down. So, I want to make sure they understand that we have to go in, we’ve got to stay focused, but at the same time we can refuel and kind of recharge. Coaches can coach and then get our guys warmed back up to come back out. So, on Sunday they know exactly what they can do.”
Pederson described the second half of practice as “sloppy.”
The Eagles practiced at the University of Minnesota.
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Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski was limited at practice, held at the Vikings’ indoor facility.
Gronkowski still hasn’t cleared concussion protocol.
“We red-jerseyed him today so he’s working his way back,” Belichick said in the pool report.
Defensive linemen Deatrich Wise (concussion) and Malcom Brown (foot) also were limited in the practice in full shoulder pads.
Quarterback Tom Brady worked with tape over the thumb on his throwing hand.
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NOTES >> Carson Wentz and Howie Roseman threw the football around during the halftime break at practice. … Pederson turned 50 Wednesday. His wife, Jeannie, joined him in Bloomington. … Alshon Jeffery knows cold, having spent much of his career with the Chicago Bears. But Minneapolis? “It’s not as cold there as it is here,” Jeffery said.