A total of 10 Eagles players have been ruled out for Philadelphia's first 2016 preseason game this week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Doug Pederson revealed as much on Tuesday during his final press conference before the game. The following players won't be playing on Thursday night.
WR Jordan Matthews (knee)
LT Jason Peters (quad)
S Malcolm Jenkins (hamstring)
LB Mychal Kendricks (hamstring)
RB Wendell Smallwood (quad)
DT Mike Martin (knee)
LB Marcus Smith (concussion)
CB JaCorey Shepherd (hamstring)
WR Hunter Sharp
WR Marcus Johnson
Running back and punt returner Kenjon Barner might also be out. He's reportedly being evaluated for a quad injury.
Notes
• Pederson confirmed rookie Jalen Mills is ahead of Eric Rowe on Philadelphia's depth chart, as indicated here.
• Matthews is expected to be out for a few weeks. Pederson confirmed the receiver has a bone bruise. With Matthews out, Pederson said Nelson Agholor and Chris Givens will start. He also said Rueben Randle and Josh Huff will mix in.
• Peters is actually expected to suit up on Thursday and go through warm-ups, which is a good sign. He won't play, though. Matt Tobin, and not Lane Johnson, will start at left tackle. Pederson said the reason for not moving Johnson over is because Tobin has played well in camp.
• Pederson said Chris Maragos and Jaylen Watkins will split snaps at first team safety next to Rodney McLeod. Watkins has had a surprisingly good camp. Notably absent from this rotation is Ed Reynolds.
• Najee Goode will start in place of Kendricks. Pederson said he expects Kendricks to return to practice on Saturday.
• If Barner can't play, the Eagles will only have four running backs active: Ryan Mathews, Darren Sproles, Byron Marshall, and Cedric O'Neal. The Birds obviously won't want to use Mathews and Sproles too heavily so this could mean Marshall and O'Neal will get a lot of carries. Good chance for the Eagles to evaluate their running back depth. On the other hand, Smallwood missing valuable time certainly isn't ideal.
• Steven Means will get an opportunity to shine with Smith out.
• Keep an eye on Eagles UDFA receivers Paul Turner and Cayleb Jones. They've been the best of the rookies and they should have ample opportunity with Matthews, Johnson, and Sharp out for this game.