TE Tyree Jackson to be sidelined 8-10 weeks with back fracture

The Eagles and quarterback-turned-tight end Tyree Jackson received some tough news on Wednesday: Jackson has a fractured bone in his back and is expected to miss 8-10 weeks with the injury. One positive note is that he will not require surgery.

Bummer.

Jackson was the talk of training camp over the last few weeks. Once considered a long shot to make the 53-man roster, Jackson was so impressive in practice and in his first NFL preseason game as a tight end that most began to wonder if the Eagles would risk exposing him to waivers.

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Jackson suffered the injury Tuesday when he made a leaping catch, but landed on his back. He was down for a spell, but did return. Was having a solid camp after moving from QB to TE just 8 months ago. https://t.co/YWz8HVPBr5

— Jeff McLane (@Jeff_McLane) August 18, 2021

The one potential positive thought as a result of this news was that the Eagles may be able to stash Jackson, who has impressed but likely needs more time to continue to develop at the position, on injured reserve. However, The Athletic’s Zach Berman shared this quick note about the new IR rules:

Quick note on this: Even with new IR rules, a player is only eligible to return if he's on IR after the initial 53. So if Jackson is going to make to be playing in games for Eagles after the recovery, he'd need to be carried on the 53 and then put on IR, (Or waived and return) https://t.co/u7UR5NYjMg

— Zach Berman (@ZBerm) August 18, 2021

Under the new injured reserve rules, Jackson can only be eligible to return during the 2021 season if he is first carried on the 53-man roster. This certainly complicates matters. The Eagles probably don’t want to expose Jackson to waivers if they can avoid it, but carrying him on the initial 53-man roster would likely mean exposing another player they would like to keep to waivers at some point.

But placing Jackson on IR now means that he would miss the entire season. If the Eagles are committed to Jackson’s long-term development at tight end and see him as someone who may not be ready to contribute significantly in 2021 anyway, they may opt to just place him on IR.

We’ll likely know more about their plans in the coming days. If they waive him, they may do so sooner rather than later to decrease the likelihood of another team claiming him. This Tyree Jackson injury is a bummer for the Eagles and their fans, but Jackson himself appears to have a positive attitude.

God makes no mistakes. Blessed and highly favored ❤️🙏🏽

— Tyree Jackson (@Tyree3Jackson) August 18, 2021

Update: Paul Domowitch of the Philadelphia Inquirer believes the Eagles will carry Jackson on the 53-man roster and then place him on IR, meaning he will be eligible to return to the team at some point during the 2021 season.

TE Tyree Jackson broke a bone in his back Tuesday when he leaped for a pass in the EZ v NE and came down on his back. He’ll likely be carried on 53 through final roster cutdown then put on IR. He’s supposed to be out 8-10 weeks.

— Paul Domowitch (@pdomo) August 18, 2021

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Mike Maher is the editor and publisher of The Birds Blitz and Juiced Ball Era. Follow him on Twitter @mikeMaher and @TheBirdsBlitz and check out his Eagles news archive for all of his latest stories about the Eagles and the NFL.