After Brodrick Bunkley went down early in Sunday's game with ligament damage in his elbow, the assumption was that he would shortly be placed on injured reserve. The Eagles solidified that assumption earlier today by promoting a replacement defensive tackle from the practice squad: rookie Jeff Owens. Now, however, doubt is being cast over the fact that Bunkley's season is indeed over. Adam Caplan of FoxSports.com posted the following on his Twitter account moments ago:
For #Eagles peeps; sense I'm getting on Brodrick Bunkley is that he's not out for the year, may not be as long as first thought.
Caplan went on to say that the team has not officially announced Owens' promotion yet, although apparently Owens himself has been informed of the move. He posted the following on his Twitter account around noon today:
Just found out that I will be playing on Sunday!!!! #ThankYouJesus!!!!!!
Finally, to make matters more confusing, the team released an official statement moments ago saying that no update on Bunkley's situation is expected tonight. Obviously, if Bunkley could come back towards the end of the season for the big playoff push, this would be of huge benefit to an Eagles team already rife with injuries. We'll keep you updated as more news rolls in.
BREAKING [8:08 pm EST]: Howard Eskin has just reported that Bunkley will NOT require surgery and could play as soon as this Sunday. Stay tuned for any word from the Eagles' front office.
UPDATE [9:48 pm EST] Andy Reid has told CSN Philly that Bunkley's injury might not be as bad as he had previously thought:
“Dr. Andrews said he’s had some guys who had worse injuries and played through them and other guys whose injuries weren’t as bad but couldn’t play through them. It’s just different for everybody, so we’ll see. We’ll rehab him and see how it goes. Yesterday, it didn’t look good. But he has a chance to get back out there. Right now, the swelling is down, and he’s not in a lot of pain. He won’t practice tomorrow, but beyond that, we’ll just have to see.”