Well, this is not the news Eagles fans were hoping for on a Saturday afternoon. The Eagles just announced that running back Miles Sanders and defensive end Derek Barnett have been downgraded from questionable to out for Sunday’s Week 1 matchup against the Washington Football Team.
Neither player is even traveling with the team, which feels a little strange. The team just posted this update to their original injury report on Twitter:
The Eagles have, at least publicly, been optimistic about Miles Sanders for weeks now. He popped up with a “lower-body” injury in August that was later revealed to be a hamstring issue, but the expectation was always that he was going to be able to play in Week 1.
Apparently not.
According to ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter, the team is taking the cautious approach with Sanders. He is progressing well, but the team wants to make sure he is healthy for the entire season. After how we saw the team handle the DeSean Jackson situation last season, maybe this is the right move.
Interestingly, the team is not promoting one of the three running backs on their practice squad (Elijah Holyfield, Michael Warren, or Adrian Killins) to the active roster. Instead, they are promoting OG Sua Opeta and DT T.Y. McGill.
Opeta has been with the team since last season, while McGill was cut a couple of weeks ago before being added back to the practice squad this week. McGill is presumably being added because Javon Hargrave will be out, meaning the Eagles only have three defensive tackles on the active roster (Fletcher Cox, Malik Jackson, and Hassan Ridgeway).
Opeta being promoted makes sense because the new gameday roster rules favor teams adding additional offensive linemen. But while Lane Johnson has yet to be ruled out, it’s no guarantee that he will be able to suit up tomorrow.
Replacing Miles Sanders
With Miles Sanders out and no one being promoted from the practice squad, that leaves Boston Scott, Corey Clement, and Jason Huntley as the only three running backs on the active roster. Clement has been with the team for multiple seasons, while Scott emerged as a reliable backup last season. Huntley was claimed off of waivers from the Lions a week ago and is unlikely to have a major role in the offense, but he could contribute right away on special teams.
It’s likely that Clement and Scott share the workload on Sunday, and it could be close to a 50-50 split. While Scott emerged last season, Clement has had success in the past and has reportedly looked healthier and more explosive than he has in years in training camp. Neither can replace Sanders, but the Eagles will mix and match.
Derek Barnett
This is yet another injury and step back for Derek Barnett, who really needs to have a big year for the Eagles. The team picked up the fifth-year option for his rookie deal for next season a few months ago, but they can always change their minds. In a perfect world, Barnett has a solid year and the team signs him to a contract extension.
But if he suffers through another year of injuries, could the team decide that he isn’t worth his fifth-year salary next season? Stranger things have happened. Hopefully, he only misses one week.
With Barnett out, Brandon Graham, Josh Sweat, and Vinny Curry will all definitely be active and see significant workloads in Week 1. After those three, the team has Genard Avery and Casey Toohill. Avery surprisingly avoided the injury report despite what looked initially like a significant knee injury less than two weeks ago. Toohill was a training camp superstar who forced his way onto the final roster.
Will both be active? The numbers say probably not, but it’s not impossible. If only one suits up, expect it to be Avery.
Lane Johnson
As of now, Lane Johnson has NOT been ruled out for Week 1. But now that we know Johnson underwent ankle surgery in August, it would not be a surprise if he is unable to go. If he is truly questionable, look for him to test out his ankle in pregame warmups, with the team making a decision shortly thereafter.
Nate Herbig was reportedly working out at RG in practice late in the week. Some wondered if he could start there over Matt Pryor. I think it’s more likely that the team was giving him reps in the event that Pryor has to start at RT.
