Eagles Injury Report: Jalen Carter returns, DeVonta Smith among 4 players missing practice

The latest news on Philadelphia and Miami ahead of Week 7.

The Philadelphia Eagles issued their first official injury report on Wednesday in advance of their Week 7 game against the Miami Dolphins.

Note that this report is an estimation because the team held a walkthrough in lieu of a normal practice.

Four players were listed under DID NOT PARTICIPATE: Lane Johnson, DeVonta Smith, Reed Blankenship, and Bradley Roby.

Brian Baldinger told Pardon My Take that Johnson is “doing fine and he’ll be ready for Miami.” This sentiment lines up with a previous report that Johnson could avoid missing game action. The Eagles are probably trying to rest Johnson as much as they can before having him play on Sunday night.

Smith is a new addition to the injury report with a hamstring issue. It’s only fair to wonder if the Eagles signing Julio Jones is related to this development. Thursday will be more telling in terms of seeing if DeVonta will play this weekend. If not, the Birds will have A.J. Brown, newly signed Julio Jones, and Olamide Zaccheaus as their top three wide receiver options.

Blankenship reportedly avoided an injury that will land him on injured reserve but it looks like he’s in jeopardy of missing at least one game. If that’s the case, the Eagles will be without both starting safeties since Justin Evans is on injured reserve until Week 11.

Roby is in a similar boat to Blankenship; he could avoid going on IR but he might miss at least one game. The Eagles signing another nickel cornerback option in Josiah Scott did not bode well for Roby’s chances of playing this week.

Four players were listed under LIMITED PARTICIPATION: Jalen Carter, Darius Slay, Dallas Goedert, and Milton Williams.

Carter participated for the first time since getting banged up in practice last week. It seems like he could be on track to return after missing one game. Getting him back would help the Eagles’ defensive front try to make up for secondary deficiencies.

Slay is also potentially on track to play after missing Week 6. The Eagles are looking especially weak at slot cornerback but it’d be good to have both starters on the outside.

Goedert wasn’t on the field for the Eagles’ final drive; he was getting looked at in the medical tent. He’s expected to be OK to play but he’s less than 100% right now.

Williams missed some snaps in Week 6 after getting banged up but he was able to return and finish the game. Guessing the Eagles are going to manage his workload to help get him to Sunday.

Three players were listed under FULL PARTICIPATION: Sydney Brown, Eli Ricks, and Marlon Tuipulotu.

Brown is on track to play for the first time since suffering a hamstring injury in Week 3. Good time to get him back with Blankenship potentially out and Evans on IR. Brown and Terrell Edmunds are the likely starting safeties this weekend. Big-time test for the rookie.

Ricks being listed as full go is encouraging since he was helping to take reps at slot CB and outside CB. He could conceivably be the starting nickel with Roby out, though the Eagles might also rotate Scott in there.

Tui is on track to suit up for the first time since Week 4. He typically plays a relatively small role as a rotational defensive tackle but that’s important since Carter, Williams, and Fletcher Cox have all been on the injury report recently. The Eagles could afford to go a little heavier on the DT rotation to help keep guys healthy.

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES INJURY REPORT (WEDNESDAY)

DID NOT PARTICIPATE

S Reed Blankenship (ribs)
OT Lane Johnson (ankle)
CB Bradley Roby (shoulder)
WR DeVonta Smith (hamstring)

LIMITED PARTICIPATION

DT Jalen Carter (ankle)
CB Darius Slay (knee)
TE Dallas Goedert (groin)
DT Milton Williams (ankle)

FULL PARTICIPATION

S Sydney Brown (hamstring)
CB Eli Ricks (knee)
DT Marlon Tuipulotu (triceps)

MIAMI DOLPHINS INJURY REPORT (WEDNESDAY)

The Dolphins opened Jalen Ramsey’s 21-day practice window but Mike McDaniel already ruled out the star cornerback for Week 7.

Fellow All-Pro cornerback Xavien Howard did not practice. McDaniel described him as “day-to-day” so it seems like there’s a chance he could miss this week’s game. How he progresses this week (or not) will be worth monitoring.

Kendall Lamm, who is starting at left tackle with Terron Armstead on injured reserve, missed practice due to personal reasons.

Dolphins fullback Alec Ingold missed practice but is likely being managed to get to Sunday.

Starting center Connor Williams has been dealing with a groin injury that caused him to miss Week 4 and Week 6. He might not be able to play in Philly.

DID NOT PARTICIPATE

CB Xavien Howard (groin)
FB Alec Ingold (foot)
OT Kendall Lamm (not injury related – personal)
OL Connor Williams (groin)

LIMITED PARTICIPATION

CB Kader Kohou (neck)
DB Nik Needham (Achilles)
CB Jalen Ramsey (knee)

FULL PARTICIPATION

WR Chase Claypool (knee)
LB Jaelan Phillips (oblique)
RB Jeff Wilson (ribs/finger)