Eagles Injury Report: Jalen Mills provides an update on his status

The Philadelphia Eagles issued their second official injury report on Thursday in advance of their Week 6 game against the Minnesota Vikings.

But before we get to the injury report itself, let’s note that Jalen Mills provided an update on recovery status.

Q: How are you running?

MILLS: “I’m running good. I can’t give you an exact date on when I started running but from the start to now, I’m running a lot better.”

Q: Do you have any restrictions? Is there anything your’e not allowed to do?

MILLS: Practice.

Q: Physically?

MILLS: No, not right now. I really don’t have any restrictions right now.

Q: Will you be able to start practicing next week?

MILLS: Yeah, with my PUP [Physically Unable to Perform status] I think I’ll be able to start practicing.

Q: Do you anticipate that happening?

MILLS: Um, like I said, I’m going to wait to see if the doctor says I’m cleared for everything. And he says ‘Yeah’ then I’ll go out there. If he says ‘No’ I’ll do certain things and just follow what he has to say.

Mills began the regular season on PUP since he still wasn’t fully recovered from the foot injury he originally suffered in October 2018. Mills will be eligible to be activated from PUP to the 53-man roster as soon as next week.

But just because Mills is eligible doesn’t mean it’s a certainty he’ll be practicing. As he said, he still needs to be cleared.

Assuming Mills IS ready to practice, the Eagles don’t need to take him off the PUP list right away. The team has a 21-day window from the first time Mills practices to activate him. This allows the Eagles to see how he handles practice before officially putting him back on the 53-man roster. It’s been a long layoff for Mills so one must wonder about his conditioning and effectiveness coming off injury.

If/when healthy, Mills figures to be a starting cornerback on this team. We all know Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz really likes him. We also know that the Eagle’ current cadre of corners, Rasul Douglas aside, have been struggling.

Okay, back to the injury report

Six players did not participate in Thursday’s practice: DeSean Jackson, Ronald Darby, Avonte Maddox, Timmy Jernigan, Darren Sproles, and Corey Clement.

Jackson, Darby, Maddox, Jernigan, and Sproles all figure to be out this week.

Clement missing practice for the second day in a row isn’t a good sign. Clement told reporters on Wednesday that he’d be practicing on Thursday. Turns out that wasn’t an accurate claim. The Eagles might need to make a roster move or two because if Sproles and Clement can’t play the team is down to just Jordan Howard and Miles Sanders at running back. Clement being out also means Nelson Agholor — who hasn’t exactly been great at catching and holding on to the ball this year — could be on punt return duty. Perhaps the Eagles opt to promote Boston Scott from the practice squad but he struggled on punt returns this preseason after not doing it much previously in his career.

One player was limited in practice: Jason Peters.

Peters should be able to start on Sunday. The Eagles are likely managing his workload this week.

Three players were listed as full participants in practice: Sidney Jones, Orlando Scandrick, and Rodney McLeod.

Jones was a full participant for the second day in a row. He’s on track to start across from Douglas this weekend. Jones, Douglas, Scandrick, Craig James, and Ryan Lewis will be the active corners on Sunday.

Scandrick was upgraded to being a full participant after missing Wednesday’s practice due to illness. He’ll be the Eagles’ nickel corner this weekend.

McLeod was upgraded to full go after being limited on Wednesday. He’s on track to start.

We’ll learn more abut the team’s injury situation when they put out their third and final injury report tomorrow afternoon.

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES INJURY REPORT (THURSDAY)

DID NOT PARTICIPATE

RB Corey Clement (shoulder)
CB Ronald Darby (hamstring)
WR DeSean Jackson (abdomen)
DT Timmy Jernigan (foot)
CB Avonte Maddox (concussion, neck)
RB Darren Sproles (quad)

LIMITED PARTICIPATION

OT Jason Peters (knee)

FULL PARTICIPATION

CB Sidney Jones (hamstring)
S Rodney McLeod (knee)
CB Orlando Scandrick (illness)

MINNESOTA VIKINGS INJURY REPORT (THURSDAY)

Vikings starting right guard Josh Kline missed practice for the second day in a row. If he can’t play, Minnesota could be starting backup lineman Dakota Dozier in his place.

Vikings starting center Garrett Bradbury was a new addition to the injury report. He was limited on Thursday with a shoulder issue. Minnesota’s interior offensive line is a weakness even when healthy. That the Vikings could be without Kline and/or Bradbury isn’t good news for them. The Eagles really need a big game from Fletcher Cox.

Viking starting wide receiver Adam Thielen missed practice because the idea of Kirk Cousins as his quarterback made him sick.

DID NOT PARTICIPATE

LB Ben Gedeon (concussion)
OG Josh Kline (foot)
WR Adam Thielen (illness)

LIMITED PARTICIPATION

CB Mackensie Alexander (elbow, groin)
C Garrett Bradbury (shoulder)
LB Kentrell Brothers (hamstring, wrist)

FULL PARTICIPATION

DT Linval Joseph (not injury related)
TE Irv Smith Jr. (quad)
DT Shamar Stephen (knee)