Eagles Injury Report: Zach Ertz picks up new injury description as he misses practice again

The Philadelphia Eagles issued their second official injury report on Thursday in advance of their Week 17 game against the New York Giants.

Three players DID NOT PARTICIPATE for the second day in a row: Zach Ertz, Lane Johnson, and Nelson Agholor.

Ertz was previously listed with just a “ribs” injury but now “back” has been added to his description. The Eagles didn’t even practice on Christmas so I’m not sure how Ertz picked up a new injury. In any case, his status for this weekend’s game remains in doubt. Les Bowen notes it’s not necessarily as simple as Ertz deciding to tough it out:

If Ertz can’t play, the Eagles will start Dallas Goedert in his place. The recently re-signed Richard Rodgers could be the second tight end in 12 personnel packages. Joshua Perkins is also on the roster.

The guess here is that Johnson and Agholor will both miss this week’s game. Halapoulivaati Vaitai figures to start at right tackle while the Eagles will have JJ Arcega-Whiteside, Greg Ward, Robert Davis, and Deontay Burnett at wide receiver. Speaking of Burnett ...

The same six players were listed as LIMITED for the second day in a row: Jordan Howard, Fletcher Cox, Brandon Brooks, Derek Barnett, Jalen Mills, and JJ Arcega-Whiteside,

Doug Pederson said he expected Howard to be officially cleared for contact later today. If that’s the case, I suppose we’ll see Howard listed as a full participant in Friday’s practice. You can [click here] for Pederson’s comments about how the Eagles plan to handle their running back rotation with Howard, Miles Sanders, and Boston Scott moving forward.

Cox and Brooks aren’t going to miss a must-win game like this one. They’ll be good to play. Guessing the same is true for Barnett and Mills.

Pederson indicated JJAW is likely to play this week so that’s the expectation. Perhaps his playing time will be limited since he’s not 100%?

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

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES INJURY REPORT (THURSDAY)

DID NOT PARTICIPATE

WR Nelson Agholor (knee)
TE Zach Ertz (ribs, back)
OT Lane Johnson (ankle)

LIMITED PARTICIPATION

WR JJ Arcega-Whiteside (foot)
DE Derek Barnett (ankle)
OG Brandon Brooks (calf)
DT Fletcher Cox (triceps)
RB Jordan Howard (shoulder)
CB Jalen Mills (ankle)

NEW YORK GIANTS INJURY REPORT (THURSDAY)

Starting right tackle Mike Remmers and starting slot cornerback Corey Ballentine missed practice for the second day in a row. Looks like they’ll be out this week.

If Remmers is out, Nick Gates is projected to start at right tackle. Gates has been limited with a shoulder injury for two days in a row.

Starting cornerback DeAndre Baker is a new addition to the report with a knee injury. Fellow starting cornerback Sam Beal was limited for the second day in a row. The Giants’ secondary has already been terrible when healthy so these injuries can’t help matters.

Inside linebacker Alec Ogletree and outside linebacker Lorenzo Carter were upgraded to limited. They’re trending in the direction to play.

Starting tight end Rhett Ellison continues to be limited as he recovers from a concussion. Backup tight end Scott Simonson was added to the report with a concussion of his own.

Starting wide receiver Darius Slayton was limited again. Our enemies over at Big Blue View recently wrote that Slayton “limped his way through much of last Sunday’s game [Week 16 at Washington].”

DID NOT PARTICIPATE

CB Corey Ballentine (back)
OT Mike Remmers (concussion)

LIMITED PARTICIPATION

CB DeAndre Baker (knee)
CB Sam Beal (shoulder)
LB Lorenzo Carter (knee)
TE Rhett Ellison (concussion/non-contact)
OT Nick Gates (shoulder)
LB Alec Ogletree (back)
TE Scott Simonson (concussion)
WR Darius Slayton (knee)