Eagles Injury Report: Alshon Jeffery returns to practice

The Philadelphia Eagles released their first official injury report on Wednesday in advance of their Week 2 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The big news is that Alshon Jeffery returned to practice for the first time since having offseason surgery on a torn rotator cuff he played through during the entire 2017 season. Jeffery was only a limited participant in practice, and he’s not expected to play this weekend, but it’s good to see he’s progressing towards a return. It was previously reported he might make his season debut in Week 3 against the Colts.

Speaking of potential Week 3 returns, Carson Wentz was also limited in practice. He’s going to be out again this week since Doug Pederson said Nick Foles will be starting against the Bucs. But there are multiple signs pointing to Wentz possibly returning to the field next week.

Two other players were limited on Wednesday: Darren Sproles and Shelton Gibson. Neither player was on the injury report last week so they must have gotten a little dinged up in last week’s game against the Falcons (or during practice today). Gibson curiously only played four offensive snaps against Atlanta. He still played 22 special teams snaps (81%), though, so he wasn’t completely held back by injury.

I’d guess Sproles and Gibson will be fine to play this week, but we’ll see. The Eagles WERE certainly showing a lot of interest in receivers before signing Kamar Aiken, who figures to contribute on special teams.

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES INJURY REPORT (WEDNESDAY)

LIMITED PARTICIPATION

QB Carson Wentz (knee)
WR Alshon Jeffery (shoulder)
RB Darren Sproles (hamstring)
WR Shelton Gibson (knee)

TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS INJURY REPORT (WEDNESDAY)

The Bucs are dealing with a number of significant injury issues.

The following starters did not practice: wide receiver DeSean Jackson, defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul, and cornerback Brent Grimes. Tampa Bay’s other starting corner, Vernon Hargreaves III, was placed on injured reserve. Rookie first-round pick Vita Vea, who is a top backup to Gerald McCoy and old friend Beau Allen, was also out.

Starting left tackle Donovan Smith and starting right guard Caleb Benenoch were both limited in practice as they’re dealing with knee injuries.

DID NOT PARTICIPATE

WR DeSean Jackson (concussion, shoulder)
DE Jason Pierre-Paul (knee)
CB Brent Grimes (groin)
DT Vita Vea (calf)

LIMITED PARTICIPATION

OT Donovan Smith (knee)
OG Caleb Benenoch (knee)