Fullback Jon Ritchie can't change the past.

All that matters now is that he will be a Philadelphia Eagle for the 2005 season.

FB Jon Ritchie

Ritchie can no longer be called an unrestricted free agent as he signed a one-year contract with the Eagles on Wednesday. The 2004 season ended prematurely for Ritchie who tore his ACL in the third week of the season against Detroit.

Even though he suffered such a devastating injury, the Eagles had approached Ritchie about re-signing him prior to free agency. Ritchie decided to weigh his options, something he wished he hadn't.

"It made me feel pretty good that they came to me and offered me a deal before free agency even started," Ritchie said. "In retrospect, I wish I would have just signed it then, rather than fool around for a month. But I feel very confident that they like what I can potentially do, assuming I work hard enough and get healthy enough. It makes me feel comfortable and makes me feel proud that they wanted me to stick around."

Ritchie now has some unfinished business to tend to. Ritchie was a part of the 2002 Oakland Raiders team that lost in the Super Bowl to Tampa Bay. Even though he didn't play, he was a part of last season's NFC Championship squad. One of the reasons Ritchie wanted to return was his confidence in that the Eagles will return to the Super Bowl next season in Detroit.

"I certainly didn't want to go anywhere," Ritchie said. "This is the team that I love and the coaches that I love. My family is here and this team is going to the Super Bowl. It was obvious to me that this was the place to be."

As for what his part will be of the 2005 squad, Ritchie knows he is still working back towards the condition he was prior to his injury.

"It's been awhile since I've been able to feel normal, but I'm getting better and I really have to hit it hard this offseason as far as preparing myself for next year," Ritchie said. "But I know with this training staff we'll be able to work through this. It's a frustrating injury though, because it takes so long."

If anything else, sitting on the sidelines last season made Ritchie realize how much he wanted to keep playing.

"I was depressed at several points in the season, but the guys were great and Coach (Andy) Reid was gracious in letting me stick around and be a little bit involved with meetings and stuff," Ritchie said. "I thought that that was such a kind gesture on his part. I appreciated that. I was dying to be out there. That's for sure. I was pretty down and I wouldn't have been able to make it through that without such a great group of guys here. If anything, last season just made me realize how much this sport means to me and how much this town means to me. It just made me want to work harder."

With Ritchie back, the Eagles now have three fullbacks on the roster with Josh Parry - who took over the starting job when Ritchie was injured - and Thomas Tapeh, who continues to make progress with the dislocated hip injury he suffered at the end of last season.