Injury Report: Eagles at Vikings

Embed from Getty Images

By Paul Bowman, Sports Talk Philly Editor

The Eagles have a few new names on the injury report, unfortunately, this week as they embark on the most difficult part of their season – three straight road games against skilled opponents.

There are two players notably missing from this list: Sidney Jones and Corey Clement.

Clement was placed on injured reserve and is out for the season following his second injury of the season.

Jones, meanwhile, is in position to start the game opposite Rasul Douglas.

Injury Report

Eagles

Out

DT Tim Jernigan

Jernigan misses his fourth game with his four-to-six week injury. The Eagles pass rush came alive against the lowly Jets and recorded 10 sacks, but it is clear the Eagles miss Jernigan. Jernigan played just a game and a half and recorded a sack of his own. The only other sack registered by a DT on the Eagles roster this season came from Hassan Ridgeway in that game against the Jets. The Eagles have been rotating an extra defensive end inside to help with the lack of inside pressure, but having Jernigan being able to spell Cox and/or play alongside him rather than Spence or Ridgeway will be a huge boost for the line.

WR DeSean Jackson

Jackson will miss, for all intensive purposes, his fifth straight game if you don’t count the handful of snaps he played in week two while he was injured. His rehab has progressed well and he is expected back next week against the Cowboys, but if he suffers another injury or setback, the team may need to make a move like promoting Greg Ward or a speedy receiver the team recently added to the practice squad.

CB Ronald Darby

Darby missed the past two games and will miss yet another. The hope is that his poor play early in the season was influenced by his injury and his return is huge for the Eagles.

CB Avonte Maddox

Andrew Sendejo put Maddox in the concussion protocol and left him suffering from a neck injury. His injury combines with those to Darby, Mills and LeBlanc leaves a desolated cornerback position.

RB Darren Sproles

The injury to Sproles means that the team now has a vacancy for his snaps on offense as well as at punt returner. Corey Clement would have taken over his spot had he not just been placed on IR. Will those reps go to Miles Sanders or Boston Scott on offense? Will the return duties go to Nelson Agholor or the aforementioned Scott?

Vikings

Out

OL Josh Kline

Kline is the starting right guard and is probably the weakest link of the offensive line for the Vikings. Replacing the weakest link with an even worse one is not ideal. This should open up a lane that Fletcher Cox or one of Brandon Graham or Vinny Curry (when rotated inside) can exploit to shut down or delay runs as well as pressure Kirk Cousins.

LB Ben Gedeon

Geodeon is listed on the Vikings depth chart as a starting linebacker, but he is the team’s third linebacker and, much like the Eagles third linebacker, has his snaps eaten up when only two linebackers are on the field. Kendricks and Barr are not coming off if they’re healthy. He’s played in fewer than half of the team’s snaps, so his absence shouldn’t vastly change the gameplan.

Questionable

LB Kentrell Brothers

The real significance of this is that Gedeon is also out, so if Brother is ruled out, the Vikings have only three healthy linebackers. If any injury were to occur at the position, the dropoff would be steep and the Vikings would be forced to play with an extra DB out of necessity rather than game planning.