Eagles Injury Report: Jalen Mills and Ronald Darby return while six Cowboys starters miss practice

The Philadelphia Eagles issued their first official injury report on Wednesday in advance of their Week 7 Sunday Night Football game against the Dallas Cowboys.

The big news is that Jalen Mills returned to practice for the first time since he originally injured his foot nearly a year ago on October 28, 2018. Mills told reporters he is aiming to play this Sunday. Even if Mills is able to play, Doug Pederson noted that he’s very likely to be on a pitch count after such a long layoff. Note that Mills isn’t listed on the official injury report since he still hasn’t been activated to the 53-man roster. The Eagles could take him off reserve/Physically Unable to Perform later this week.

Seven players did not participate in Wednesday’s practice: Fletcher Cox, DeSean Jackson, Jason Peters, Nigel Bradham, Avonte Maddox, Timmy Jernigan, and Darren Sproles.

Cox missed practice due to illness. He should be fine.

Jackson was briefly spotted at practice before leaving. Reports indicate “there is big hope” that Jackson can play this week but even if he suits up it’s clear he won’t be 100%. We’ll see if Jackson gets some actual work in on Thursday.

Peters was described as “week-to-week” by Pederson so it sounds like the Eagles will be without their starting left tackle for multiple games. 2019 first-round pick Andre Dillard will start in Peters’ place. Big test for the rookie blocker this week as he goes up against Robert Quinn, who has five sacks in four games this season.

Bradham was described as “day-to-day” by Pederson but his outlook this week doesn’t look so rosy. Bradham was seen limping in the locker room. If Bradham can’t play, the Eagles will be down to Nathan Gerry, Kamu Grugier-Hill, T.J. Edwards, and Duke Riley at linebacker. Alex Singleton could get called up from the practice squad.

Maddox is still in the mandatory concussion protocol after taking that brutal shot from Andrew Sendejo in Week 4. He’s not wearing a neck brace anymore, which is a sign of some progress.

Prior to practice, Pederson said Tim Jernigan was “close” to returning. Jernigan was then seen warming up with the team, albeit without a helmet on. The original reported timeline for Jernigan’s foot injury was four-to-six weeks. It’s been four weeks. So, perhaps he’ll be back next week or so.

As of last week, Darren Sproles was described as “week-to-week” so he’ll miss Sunday’s game and maybe more.

One player was limited in practice: Ronald Darby.

Darby returned to practice after originally injuring his hamstring in Week 3. Pederson said the Eagles feel comfortable not having Darby on a pitch count if he’s ready to play. Darby could be starting this weekend if he continues to progress nicely through the week.

Sidney Jones and Rodney McLeod are not listed on the injury report after previously appearing in last week’s edition. Jones could be relegated to the bench with Darby and/or Mills returning. One would figure Rasul Douglas is ahead of Jones on the depth chart.

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

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES INJURY REPORT (WEDNESDAY)

DID NOT PARTICIPATE

LB Nigel Bradham (ankle)
DT Fletcher Cox (illness)
WR DeSean Jackson (abdomen)
DT Timmy Jernigan (foot)
CB Avonte Maddox (concussion, neck)
OT Jason Peters (knee)
RB Darren Sproles (quad)

LIMITED PARTICIPATION

CB Ronald Darby (hamstring)

...

DALLAS COWBOYS INJURY REPORT (WEDNESDAY)

The Cowboys are dealing with numerous injuries as well.

Six noteworthy Cowboys players did not practice on Wednesday: starting wide receiver Amari Cooper, starting slot receiver Randall Cobb, starting cornerback Byron Jones, starting cornerback Anthony Brown, starting left tackle Tyron Smith, and starting right tackle La’el Collins. (Starting center Travis Frederick also didn’t practice but it was just a rest day for him.)

Yikes!

It sounds like the Cowboys could potentially be without all of those guys.

In addition to these players, starting wide receiver Michael Gallup, starting guard Zack Martin, and punter Chris Jones were all limited.

The Cowboys will be hoping that some of these key players can make progress this week. Their injury report will be worth monitoring.

DID NOT PARTICIPATE

CB Anthony Brown (hamstring)
WR Randall Cobb (back)
OT La’el Collins (knee)
WR Amari Cooper (ankle/quad)
C Travis Frederick (not injury related)
CB Byron Jones (hamstring)
OT Tyron Smith (ankle)

LIMITED PARTICIPATION

DE Dorance Armstrong (neck)
WR Michael Gallup (knee)
P Chris Jones (back)
OG Zack Martin (back/ankle)

FULL PARTICIPATION

LB Sean Lee (knee)
RB Tony Pollard (knee)