Eagles Injury Report: Carson Wentz limited; Lane Johnson among 7 players who didn’t practice

The Philadelphia Eagles released their first official injury report on Wednesday in advance of their Week 7 game against the Carolina Panthers.

Seven players (over 13% of the roster) did not practice: right tackle Lane Johnson, running back Darren Sproles, cornerback Sidney Jones, cornerback Rasul Douglas, safety Corey Graham, linebacker Nathan Gerry, and linebacker D.J. Alexander.

Johnson is missing time due to a high ankle sprain. One would think he’ll be OK for Sunday’s game since he was able to tough out a Thursday night matchup last week. I’d imagine the Eagles are just resting him early in the week.

Sproles is still dealing with the same hamstring injury that’s kept him out for five games now. Doug Pederson described Sproles as “day-to-day.” Howard Eskin suggested Sproles might return this week but that doesn’t seem likely unless the veteran running back returns to action tomorrow.

Pederson indicated Jones could miss multiple games when he said the Eagles’ slot corner is “week-to-week.” It remains to be seen exactly how the coaching staff plans to replace him in Philadelphia’s nickel defense. The Eagles could put Avonte Maddox in the slot and have Douglas play safety again. Or they could have the recently re-signed Dexter McDougle play on the inside and keep Maddox on the back end. Moving Jalen Mills to the nickel role would allow Douglas to play on the outside with Maddox staying at safety. We’ll have to see how this goes on Sunday.

Douglas missed practice but he’s listed as “not injury related.” So that’s good.

Pederson said Graham is day-to-day. It sounds like the veteran safety could miss another game. His potential absence makes the Eagles even thinner in the secondary.

Gerry and Alexander missed the Eagles vs. Giants game last Thursday. Looks like they could be out against the Panthers as well. Being without them hurt the Eagles’ depth at linebacker and special teams.

Four players were limited in practice: quarterback Carson Wentz, defensive tackle Haloti Ngata, left tackle Jason Peters, and defensive end Derek Barnett.

Wentz was limited due to back spasms but reports indicate it’s “nothing to worry about.” He’s expected to be a full participant during Thursday’s practice.

Ngata returned to practice after missing the Eagles’ last two games. Philadelphia really needs him to be able to play because Fletcher Cox and Treyvon Hester are the only other two full-time defensive tackles on the 53-man roster.

Peters is expected to play this week despite suffering a biceps injury against the Giants. The Eagles limited his workload to give him some rest.

Barnett was able to play against the Giants after sitting out in Week 5 so I imagine he’ll be ready for this week’s game as well. Likely just another case of the Eagles taking it easy on injured players early in the week.

In other injury news, Tim Jernigan was seen watching practice from the sidelines for the first time since he got hurt in the offseason. Maybe that’s a good sign moving forward? It’s worth noting that Jernigan is now eligible to return to practice, though there’s no firm timetable indicating if/when that’ll take place. He remains on the reserve/non-football injury list in the meantime.

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES INJURY REPORT (WEDNESDAY)

DID NOT PARTICIPATE

LB D.J. Alexander (quad)
CB Rasul Douglas (not injury related)
LB Nathan Gerry (ankle, knee)
S Corey Graham (hamstring)
OT Lane Johnson (ankle)
CB Sidney Jones (hamstring)
RB Darren Sproles (knee)

LIMITED PARTICIPATION

DE Derek Barnett (shoulder)
DT Haloti Ngata (calf)
OT Jason Peters (biceps)
QB Carson Wentz (back)

CAROLINA PANTHERS INJURY REPORT (WEDNESDAY)

Here’s what our colleagues over at Cat Scratch Reader had to say about the Panthers’ injury report:

The Panthers were missing a few players today, but nothing stands out as anything to worry about yet. Kyle Love injured his shoulder last Sunday, so we’ll keep an eye on that story and see how it develops throughout the week. Hopefully he’ll be available on Sunday in Philadelphia, though. He’s a key cog to the defensive line rotation and the Panthers need all the bodies they can get up front.

DID NOT PARTICIPATE

S Mike Adams (rest)
DE Mario Addison (rest)
LB Ben Jacobs (not injury related)
DT Kyle Love (shoulder)
DE Julius Peppers (rest)
LB Andre Smith (hamstring)

LIMITED PARTICIPATION

CB Donte Jackson (groin)
TE Greg Olsen (foot)