Key Cornerback, 3 Starters Out on Eagles Final Injury Report

The Eagles ruled five players out on the team’s final injury report. They will be without starters Miles Sanders (knee) and Alshon Jeffery (calf) — both players were expected to miss this week’s game — along with linebacker Nate Gerry who was placed on IR. The most surprising name on the list was Cre’Von LeBlanc. The important (and fan favorite) slot cornerback is out with a quadriceps injury.

LeBlanc first popped up on Thursday’s report as a limited participant and it’s unclear how or when he sustained the injury. The 26-year-old had been serving as the Eagles’ primary slot cornerback with Nickell Robey-Coleman forced to play outside due to Avonte Maddox’s ankle ailment. LeBlanc saw 32 defensive snaps (53%) in last week’s comeback win over New York. With Maddox healthy this week, Robey-Coleman will resume his role at slot corner.

Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz mentioned last week that he treats LeBlanc and Robey-Coleman as interchangeable parts. Safety Jalen Mills has also rotated in at cornerback in a pinch this year.

“I mean, you start the season, and you have one plan and then on a weekly basis or a monthly basis or whatever basis, whether it’s game plan, personnel matchup or injury, you have to be able to be flexible and change,” Schwartz said on Oct. 20. “And I think that you see that from our secondary, guys like Robey trained at corner. Strap played at corner. Both of those guys have played inside-type roles.”

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Eagles List 4 Impact Players Good to Go

Looking for a more positive spin on the injury report? Well, the Eagles have listed four impact players good to go for Sunday against Dallas: DE Vinny Curry (illness), DT Malik Jackson (quadriceps), T Lane Johnson (knee, ankle), S K’Von Wallace (neck). They all practiced in full on Friday.

And left tackle Jason Peters (toe) and linebacker T.J. Edwards (hamstring) carried no injury designation so the expectation is that both guys will be out there. The decision to put Gerry on IR freed up a roster spot for Peters. They have one more open spot to fill after placing Avery on IR.

“This statement kind of blankets all those guys, it kind of covers all those guys; they have all practiced this week,” head coach Doug Pederson said. “They have all had a good week of preparation so far and look we’ve got to get through today [Friday].”

Pederson wouldn’t commit to tight end Dallas Goedert (ankle) and Jalen Reagor (thumb) suiting up, although both players are trending in the right direction. There have been multiple reports saying that Reagor is good to go. Goedert seems more like a long shot as he ramps back up to 100% following that high-ankle sprain.

Update on Miles Sanders, Zach Ertz

Pederson didn’t provide too many details on the status for either Miles Sanders (knee) or Zach Ertz (ankle). The head coach is more focused on the guys practicing and understands there could be reinforcements coming. The Eagles can’t sit and wait for injuries to heal, though.

“If we can just hang on here and keep things together, keep battling, keep fighting the way the guys have, and we know we’ve got around the corner, we have some of our starters that are coming back, and that’s exciting looking forward,” Pederson said. “But until that time, we’ve got to keep coaching the guys we have and the guys that are playing for us, because they are battling their tails off right now.”

A realistic timeline for Sanders is after the bye week on Nov. 15 (Giants), while Ertz appears to be out a little longer and maybe as long as Dec. 6 (Packers).

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