Eagles activate 21-day practice windows for C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Robert Quinn

Reinforcements on the way.

The Philadelphia Eagles are activating 21-day practice windows for C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Robert Quinn. Nick Sirianni indicated as much during his Wednesday press conference.

CJGJ went on injured reserve after suffering a lacerated kidney during the Eagles’ Week 12 win over the Green Bay Packers. He was eligible to return as soon as Week 17 but he clearly wasn’t deemed ready to return.

Quinn, meanwhile, went on IR one week after CJGJ did due to having a knee scope after getting hurt in practice. This week is the first week that Quinn is eligible to return.

Just because the Eagles activated the practice windows for these players does not necessarily mean they will play in Sunday’s Week 18 game against the New York Giants. It’s possible the Birds are just getting them ready ahead of the playoffs.

It will be interesting to see how the Eagles utilize CJGJ when he gets back. With Avonte Maddox missing time due to a foot injury, there’s thought that the Birds could put CJGJ in the slot and keep Reed Blankenship starting next to Marcus Epps at safety. That setup seems preferable to sending Blankenship to the bench and keeping Josiah Scott in the slot.

Regardless of the configuration, the Eagles will be happy to have CJGJ back on the field sometime soon. He’s still tied (with Justin Simmons and Tariq Woolen) for the NFL lead in interceptions) despite only playing in 12 games. Some of those picks were undoubtedly fortuitous but there is absolutely something to CJGJ being a playmaker.

As for Quinn, his expected return is hardly thrilling. He was looking pretty ineffective prior to his injury; a real Ryan Kerrigan out there. But with Josh Sweat suffering an injury that caused him to be hospitalized in Week 17, the Eagles find themselves with more snaps to fill at defensive end. And perhaps the time off did Quinn some good? It’s probably wishful thinking but perhaps we’ll see a better version of him when he gets back.

The Eagles have dealt with a decent amount of bad news on the injury front lately so these positive developments are welcomed.