Getty Eagles DT Hassan Ridgeway was undergoing further evaluation after seriously injuring his ankle Sunday night in Dallas.
With all the craziness going down at the NovaCare Complex, the injury report was almost an oversight. Alas, there seems to be more bad news on the doorstep as the Eagles might be down another defensive tackle.
Hassan Ridgeway left Sunday night’s game with an apparent knee injury early in the first half. He was listed as questionable and never returned as the Cowboys pummeled the interior of the Eagles’depleted defensive line with a bruising ground game. The Eagles were already down to their third-string defensive tackle after losing Malik Jackson and Tim Jernigan to start the season. Now it looks like Ridgeway may be out for an extended period.
On Monday, the team announced they had signed defensive tackle Anthony Rush off the Raiders practice squad. To make room, the Eagles released cornerback Orlando Scandrick and defensive tackle Akeem Spence.
#Eagles have released CB Orlando Scandrick and DT Akeem Spence.
Head coach Doug Pederson confirmed that Ridgeway was being evaluated with further testing Monday afternoon. He clarified that the 24-year-old suffered a pretty bad ankle injury and shed doubt on his immediate return.
“Probably the one that’s the most significant is Hassan Ridgeway,” Pederson said. “He’s got an ankle that caught him in the game, and he’s actually being evaluated further today on that.”
The other major injury updates centered on receiver DeSean Jackson and cornerback Avonte Maddox. Jackson is still doing rehab for his injured abdomen and Maddox is still in the concussion protocol. Neither player is expected to practice early in the week.
Sidney Jones Not Injured, Skipped in Cornerback Rotation
Third-year cornerback Sidney Jones appears to have really fallen out of favor with the coaching staff. He wasn’t listed on the week’s injury report and all signs pointed to Jones being 100-percent recovered from a lingering hamstring issue.
However, Jones saw zero snaps against Dallas while Craig James moved ahead of him on the depth chart. Head coach Doug Pederson told reporters that was the gameplan going in.
“We had Jalen Mills back this week, so it was great to see him out there,” Pederson said. “Rasul [Douglas] on the other side. That was the game plan going in. Sidney is fine. He’s okay.”
The other cornerback who didn’t see any action Sunday was Ronald Darby. He was expected to start opposite Mills in Dallas, but his sore hamstring tightened up and kept him on the bench. For now, the Eagles seem content to trot out Mills and Douglas as their starting cornerbacks.
James and Orlando Scandrick rotated in as well, with Scandrick handling the slot responsibilities in nickel packages. But the Eagles released Scandrick Monday evening following a dismal night in Dallas spent trying to chase Tavon Austin down rather unsuccessfully.
That sh*t you wait for your whole life!
Eagles Receivers Struggling to Produce Big Gains
One common denominator in all the Eagles’ losses this season has been their deficiency at wide receiver. It was thought to be an area of strength heading into the year, but they can’t get anything going.
Veteran speedster DeSean Jackson has been out since Week 2 and rookie J.J. Arcega-Whiteside can’t get on the field. Meanwhile, Alshon Jeffery has reportedly been leaking information to the press while Nelson Agholor deals with his own mishaps.
The receivers group has been a nightmare, yet the team is unwilling to give up on them. There have been several reports that the Eagles might be active at the trade deadline and could add another pass-catcher. But Pederson reiterated he likes the current roster.
“It’s hard when your quarterback sometimes doesn’t necessarily have all the time to throw,” Pederson said. “He’s having to scramble and move around and it gets you off rhythm, gets you off schedule. So that’s a part of it. We are getting some guys open and it’s been documented already with drops and different things like that this year.”
“It’s still a group that we have a lot of confidence in, a lot of trust, a lot of faith in,” Pederson said. “We’ve had opportunities to complete balls down the field we’ve missed. We missed last night in the game and we have to keep — we just have to keep working. We can’t stop working. There is a lot of football left.”
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