Getty Eagles TE Dallas Goedert injured his ankle last week and will miss "some time."
Deontay Burnett saw more snaps than DeSean Jackson and Dallas Goedert combined on Sunday. Not by design.
The injury bug is biting the Eagles worse than those annoying lantern flies buzzing around town. Five players left the infamous Week 3 tie game due to a variety of concerning reasons: Jackson (hamstring), Goedert (ankle), Avonte Maddox (ankle), Jason Peters (fatigue), J.J. Arcega-Whiteside (lower body).
In addition, Darius Slay went to the locker room and missed a few plays to have what appeared to be a hyper-extended shoulder looked at. The shutdown cornerback returned and showed no signs of serious injury. Alshon Jeffery (foot) is still on the mend, too, after participating in his first practices last week and the Eagles remain optimistic he can play in Week 4.
It’s a lot to unpack for any team, let alone a struggling squad that now has to fly cross-country to San Francisco in search of its first win. Let’s start with the good news on the above injuries, shall we?
Slay carries no injury designation. Peters, who bullied his way into more money to play left tackle, is fine. He was feeling tired and only missed two snaps (89 out of 91) on Sunday. Jackson’s injury is considered a “minor strain,” per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, and he’s not expected to miss much time (if any). Ditto for Arcege-Whiteside who pulled up lame during pre-game warmups and saw just 18 offensive snaps.
“So the reason we didn’t go to J.J., he actually kind of came up before the game with another lower-body injury in pregame, and so we had to limit his snaps during the game,” head coach Doug Pederson told reporters. “He’ll be fine, though. He’s day-to-day. We should get him, hopefully, ready to go, but he’s another one that was limited yesterday a little bit that way.”
Doug Pederson on Alshon Jeffery: He came out of last week good, going to ramp him up more this week and see where he’s at. Sounds like he’ll be another game-time decision. They need him, though. #Eagles #FlyEaglesFly
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Goedert, Maddox Due to Miss ‘Some Time’
The Eagles essentially will be without two starters for “some time,” according to Pederson. Maddox got hurt after landing awkwardly attempting to make a tackle on Tyler Boyd. Trevor Williams took over his starting spot on the outside and likely will continue to do so. He played fairly well.
Williams saw 32 snaps versus Cincinnati, with slot corners Cre’Von LeBlanc (59) and Nickell Robey-Coleman (26) seeing more time on the field. The Eagles also have defensive backs Elijah Riley and Grayland Arnold on the practice squad but they project more as safeties than corners.
The loss of Goedert is a huge one as Philly had been relying on more “12 Personnel” due to the increasing number of injured receivers. The hulking tight end was injured in the first quarter after seeing just six snaps. Zach Ertz and Richard Rodgers are the only other two tight ends on the active roster, although they have two options on the practice squad: Caleb Wilson, Jordan Franks. The Eagles worked out former Bills tight end Jason Croom last week and could add him for extra depth.
Former Bills tight end Jason Croom is expected to sign with the Eagles’ practice squad, per a league source. He drew interest from multiple teams, including the Texans
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