Doug Pederson talks Eagles injury updates, Zach Ertz’s contract situation, and more

The Eagles are now two days away (!) from their 2020 season opener on Sunday against Washington. Head coach Doug Pederson spoke to reporters on Friday morning and gave some injury updates, and talked about his confidence in Jalen Hurts if he’s called on.

Pederson also made note of some of the options the coaches have for COVID precautions, and while he’s tried a face shield — similar to what Andy Reid wore on TNF — he’ll just be wearing a mask under his headset.

Here’s what else the head coach had to say:

Injury updates

Both Lane Johnson and Miles Sanders are “doing extremely well” and even though they’re still day-to-day, they’ll have a chance to evaluate them today and see how if they’ll be available on Sunday.

When asked what was holding Derek Barnett back from getting on the field, Pederson pointed to the Eagles and said that they want to make sure he’s 100 percent. He said that Barnett is in the same category as Johnson and Sanders, and is someone they’ll keep an eye on to see if he’s able to play on Sunday.

Pederson also said that Jalen Reagor’s workload has been able to increase and he’s doing really well. Again, they aren’t going to put someone on the field who isn’t 100 percent, but he’s felt good and they’ll see where he’s over the next 48 hours.

Corey Clement showed up on Thursday’s injury report with a quad injury, but Pederson said that it was just “precautionary” and they’ll see where he is at practice on Friday. He appreciates when the players feel something and say something, so that they can be proactive about it.

On the backup QB

Pederson said that rookie Jalen Hurts is in a really good place if he happens to be called upon, and they’re comfortable with both Hurts and Nate Sudfeld behind Carson Wentz. The head coach said that he feels comfortable that if Hurts had to go into a game, he’d be okay.

On Zach Ertz’s contract situation

Pederson didn’t want to get into Ertz’s comments on Thursday about not feeling like the Eagles wanted him around longterm.

The head coach noted that he has a really good relationship with Ertz, and lauded the tight end as a tremendous football player, a great guy, and a leader — saying he’s a big part of what the Eagles’ offense does and why they’re successful.

He’s just happy that they have him in the building right now and hopes that they can put it behind them and get to football.

Other notables

• He doesn’t think they’ll utilize being able to add practice squad players to the active roster early in the season, but said as injuries mount later in the year, they’ll probably use that more.
• Pederson said that he chose the captains this season, and he chose eight because the league upped it from six — although, they can only send one captain for the coin toss each game.
• The head coach admitted it will be different and a little eerie taking the field without fans, and that they feed off that energy fans bring.