Tracking the injuries of this Philadelphia Eagles team is becoming something of a full-time job. Earlier in the week, rookie wide receiver Jalen Reagor was placed on injured reserve. He is going to miss approximately two months after undergoing thumb surgery, so it was an odd decision to wait a week to IR him.
Either way, the team finally made the move, bringing their total number of players on either IR or PUP to a whopping 11. As a reminder, the Eagles have played three games and did not play any preseason games. Yet they have 11 players on IR or PUP.
Even in a year in which we have seen a large number of injuries around the NFL, this puts the Eagles among the league leaders in injuries. Of course, this is nothing new for the Eagles over the last four years.
Even when the Eagles went on their magical Super Bowl run in 2017, they dealt with a number of significant injuries to regular contributors. So, this is something Eagles fans are used to. It’s a trend, and it’s not a good one.
On Wednesday, the team released their first injury report ahead of their Week 4 matchup against the 49ers in San Francisco. It was a lengthy one.
Eagles Week 4 Wednesday Injury Report
Yikes.
To go with their 11 players already on IR or PUP, the Eagles listed 13 players on their Wednesday injury report. One of those, Jason Kelce, appears to just be getting a veteran’s day off. Lane Johnson has been limited since returning from his ankle surgery, so that one is expected. He’s going to play in Week 4. Alshon Jeffery has yet to play this season and is questionable for this week.
The Miles Sanders glute injury is not one we knew about, but it sounds like the team is just giving him some rest.
J.J. Arcega-Whiteside appeared to injury himself during pregame warmups last week, though he did play 18 snaps (it was easy to miss him, but he was out there). Apparently, it’s a calf injury. Arcega-Whiteside also dealt with injuries during a very disappointing rookie season.
The Eagles brought in Hakeem Butler as a reinforcement earlier this week, poaching him from the Carolina Panthers practice squad. But they are also transitioning him to tight end, so it’s possible he could fill the Josh Perkins “hybrid” role if he is able to get up to speed quickly. If (and it’s a huge IF) Butler impresses early, it would not be surprising to see him taking snaps away from JJAW, especially in the red zone, even though they no longer play the same position.
Jamon Brown, Jack Driscoll, and Jason Peters all missed practice with an illness. None are reportedly serious, but it is worth noting that all three are offensive linemen who share the same meeting rooms. Perhaps the team is just being as cautious as possible to prevent any potential illness from spreading. Does not appear to be COVID-related, for those jumping to that conclusion.
Avonte Maddox is going to miss some time after suffering an injury last week, but we don’t know if he is headed to injured reserve as of yet. Rudy Ford missed last week with a groin injury and remains out of practice. Trevor Williams’s rib injury is another new one, and the team would surely like to see Williams out there with Maddox out. So, that’s a concern.
DeSean Jackson is questionable with a hamstring injury, but it would not be surprising to see the team hold him out or, at the very least, limit his snaps.
Eagles Week 4 Thursday Injury Report
If you thought Wednesday’s injury report was long, wait until you see Thursday’s.
While Jack Driscoll returned from illness to be a full participant on Thursday, Jason Peters and Jamon Brown continued to miss practice because of theirs.
Oh, and rookie wide receiver John Hightower missed practice with an illness, too. For those of you out there counting the wide receivers, consider this Tweet from The Athletic’s Zach Berman:
J.J. Arcega-Whiteside remained out of practice, as did DeSean Jackson. And after practicing on at least a limited basis over the last couple of weeks, Alshon Jeffery was notably absent from practice on Thursday.
As Berman mentions, Greg Ward is the only wide receiver on the team’s 53-man roster who is healthy and practicing. Deontay Burnett is on the practice squad and is a candidate to be promoted to the active roster again this week. Quez Watkins is practicing but has not been officially activated from injured reserve yet. It’s not known if he will be ready to play this week.
Hakeem Butler was signed off of Carolina’s practice squad earlier in the week but is being moved to tight end. Even if he is active this week, he would likely play a very limited role.
Other options on the practice squad include wide receivers Travis Fulgham and Marcus Green. Running back Adrian Killins was one of the four players the Eagles protected on their practice squad this week, and he was taking snaps at wide receiver in training camp. Perhaps he is an emergency option to see a few snaps in the slot this week?
As you can probably tell, this situation is ugly and looks eerily similar to the way the Eagles ended the 2019 season.
Eagles Week 4 Friday Injury Report
The Eagles released their official injury report on Friday afternoon and, as expected, it was long. I listed the designations and included the team’s official release in this tweet:
- With Jalen Reagor, DeSean Jackson, Alshon Jeffery, and J.J. Arcega-Whiteside out, the Eagles starting WRs are expected to be Greg Ward and John Hightower. Deontay Burnett and Travis Fulgham can be promoted from the practice squad, and Quez Watkins can be activated from IR.
- Quez Watkins returned to practice this week, but we don’t know if he is ready to return and play in a live game yet.
- Hakeem Butler was signed earlier this week and has been working with the scout team. Would not think he is ready to contribute, but who knows.
- The dark horse candidate here is Adrian Killins, who played some wide receiver in training camp and was protected this week. Could he be promoted to the active roster or even signed to the active roster in place of someone like Clement or Huntley?
- I don’t think the team is ready to give up on Clement and what he brings to the table, but have they seen enough of Huntley? With the team needing a spark (and a roster spot), it’s possible they make a move there.
