The Eagles have released their first injury report of the week ahead of this week’s clash with Carolina and unsurprisingly there are plenty of names.
#Eagles Wednesday Injury Report
DNP: LB Alexander (quadricep), CB Douglas (not injury related), LB Gerry (ankle, knee), S Graham (hamstring), T Johnson (ankle), CB Jones (hamstring), RB Sproles (hamstring)
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) October 17, 2018
Limited: DE Barnett (shoulder), DT Ngata (calf), T Peters (biceps), QB Wentz (back)
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) October 17, 2018
Let’s start with the Elephant in the room. The good news is that the injury to Carson Wentz isn’t deemed serious and he should be raring to go come Sunday.
Carson Wentz was limited at practice with a back injury. From what I hear, nothing to worry about on this. He'll be a full participant tomorrow and will play Sunday.
— Zach Berman (@ZBerm) October 17, 2018
There’s a lot to get through here, so we’ll break it down by position.
Defensive back:
We knew Sidney Jones would likely be out of practice for a while, but the addition of Rasul Douglas to the injury list is both surprising and worrying. It certainly explains why the team recently brought back nickel corner Dexter McDougle. Avonte Maddox will be headlining the defensive backfield once again and if Corey Graham misses a second consecutive week, expect Tre Sullivan or Deiondre Hall to step up in his place, while Malcolm Jenkins stays inside the box as one of the best hybrid players in the NFL. This injury setback could be problematic for the Eagles, but here’s an article I published earlier today going into much more detail.
Linebacker:
Nate Gerry and D.J Alexander both missed practice today which could be problematic in the weeks to come. The Eagles are thin at linebacker depth as it is and beyond their three starters lies only LaRoy Reynolds if we were to head into a game right now. Again, this likely explains why former Browns LB B.J Bello was signed to the practice squad earlier this week.
Defensive line:
No Ngata again could be a real thorn in the side of this Eagles team as they face a Panthers offensive front that have done an excellent job of buying Newton time and keeping him upright. The Eagles will be relying on Treyvon Hester and Winston Craig to partner Fletcher Cox in the middle, while the potential absence of Derek Barnett could provide yet another opportunity for rookie Josh Sweat.
Offensive line:
Lane Johnson missed practice today and Jason Peters was limited, which doesn’t bode well for the offensive line. However, Big V is certainly an insurance policy and after Isaac Seumalo proved he can cut it as a tackle when absolutely needed, there’s no reason to panic just yet. Could this be the week we see Jordan Mailata suited up as a reserve?
Running back:
Darren Sproles is still held back, but it’s a clean slate for Clement and company which at this point has to be seen as a positive.
Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
