Eagles place Kamu Grugier-Hill on injured reserve, promote practice squad defensive tackle [UPDATE]

UPDATE: More information on Kamu Grugier-Hill from his agent:

“Kamu has been playing through significant pain for the majority of the 2019 season. This pain has forced him to take weekly pre-game pain killing shots and IV drips. This past week, the pain became unbearable and it was determined he required a minor and minimally invasive back procedure to relieve the pain.”

So, did Grugier-Hill respond to a decrease in playing time by essentially shutting himself down for the season? Doug Pederson was asked about that possibility and said the following:

“That’s speculation. I’m not going to answer that. That’s speculation. I don’t get into that, hypotheticals.”

ORIGINAL STORY BELOW.

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The Philadelphia Eagles had seemingly made it through their Week 15 game against Washington unscathed ... but apparently that wasn’t the case after all. The Eagles officially placed linebacker/special teams captain Kamu Grugier-Hill on injured reserve due to a back injury. The team put out the following statement:

“Following Sunday’s game at Washington, Kamu Grugier-Hill reported back discomfort to team physicians. On Monday afternoon, an MRI confirmed a lower lumbar disc herniation. After consulting with the team’s spine surgeon, the decision was made to proceed with surgery.”

This development could help to explain why Grugier-Hill’s snaps were unexpectedly limited in Washington. There was thought the team may have cut Grugier-Hill’s playing time due to the fact he previously lied about not having a concussion. UPDATE: Doug Pederson stressed the injury was reported by Grugier-Hill after the game and his playing time was limited due to the Eagles’ game plan, not the injury. Okay.

Losing Grugier-Hill for the rest of the season hurts. He was a valuable contributor on both defense and special teams. This injury means that Nigel Bradham and Nathan Gerry will be the Eagles’ top two linebackers moving forward. Undrafted rookie free agent T.J. Edwards is the third linebacker with Duke Riley and Alex Singleton also on the roster behind him.

The injury comes at an especially unfortunate time for Grugier-Hill since he’s set to be a free agent this offseason. His market could be much more limited now, which could make returning to the Eagles on a one-year deal palatable.

In a corresponding roster move, the Eagles promoted practice squad defensive tackle Bruce Hector. The team had a need for more defensive tackle depth considering Fletcher Cox, Timmy Jernigan, and Anthony Rush were previously the only three players at their position on the 53-man roster. Hector appeared in one game and logged 30 defensive snaps with the Eagles earlier this season.

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Eagles players on injured reserve

RB Corey Clement

S Rudy Ford

LB Kamu Grugier-Hill

WR DeSean Jackson

T Malik Jackson

WR Alshon Jeffery

OT Jordan Mailata

DE Joe Ostman

DT Hassan Ridgeway

RB Darren Sproles

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Current Eagles practice squad

[Vacant spot]

TE Alex Ellis

WR Deontay Burnett

DT Albert Huggins

WR Marken Michel

CB Tremon Smith

C Keegan Render

RB De’Angelo Henderson

QB Kyle Lauletta

WR Marcus Green