Linebacker Devin White, one of the Eagles' big offseason free agent signings, won’t be playing in the Eagles’ opener vs. the Packers thanks to an ankle injury.
White practiced Sunday and Monday and was limited Tuesday, so it seems likely he got hurt during practice Tuesday, the Eagles’ final practice in Philadelphia. The Eagles weren’t required to issue an injury report until Tuesday. They updated it Wednesday, downgrading White from limited to out.
The Eagles announced that White won’t be traveling to São Paulo, Brazil, where the Eagles open the season Friday night against the Packers.
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That means Zack Baun and Nakobe Dean will be the likely starters at off-ball linebacker. The other healthy linebackers are Oren Burks, Ben VanSumeren and rookie Jeremiah Trotter Jr.
None of the options has nearly as much experience as White, who has started 75 games in five seasons. Burks has 15 career starts, Baun 14, Dean four and VanSumeren one.
It wasn’t etched in stone that White, the former Buccaneers Pro Bowler, would be starting even when healthy. The linebacker spot has been a work in progress all summer with nothing decided even in the final days leading up to the Packers game.
The Eagles signed White to a one-year, $7.5 million contract in March. He didn’t have a very active training camp but got the first set of reps with the starting defense all but one day – the joint practice with the Patriots, when Dean got the first shot with the 1s.
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Dean had the best camp of all the linebackers, followed by Baun, who was solid. Burks missed most of the preseason with an injury but looked very good when he returned. VanSumeren and Trotter Jr. both also had good summers.
White, the fifth pick in the 2019 draft, was a 2nd-team all-pro in 2020 as a 22-year-old and was a Pro Bowler in 2021. But he was benched at the end of last year and played only 40 snaps in the Bucs’ two playoff games before signing with the Eagles early in free agency.