Eagles safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson missed Thursday’s practice after popping up on the injury report with a foot injury.
It’s unclear when Gardner-Johnson suffered the injury — he was not on Wednesday’s report — but now his status for Sunday’s game in New Orleans, against his former team, is in question.
Here’s the full Eagles injury report from Thursday:
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Did not practice: A.J. Brown (hamstring), C.J. Gardner-Johnson (foot), Johnny Wilson (hamstring)
The Eagles might be in some trouble if Gardner-Johnson can’t play on Sunday against a high-flying Saints offense that has scored 91 points over the first two weeks of the season to give them a 2-0 record.
If Gardner-Johnson can’t play, the Eagles don’t have a ton of depth at safety. Reed Blankenship is their other starter but who would start next to him? They have some extra safeties on the practice squad but their options on the 53-man roster are somewhat limited.
Here are their top options if Gardner-Johnson doesn’t play:
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1. Simply elevate the next man up and play Tristin McCollum. McCollum played three defensive snaps in the opener. He had a solid training camp this season and made the roster. But he has primarily been a special teams player.
2. The more intriguing option might be to move Avonte Maddox back to safety, which would mean then playing rookie Cooper DeJean as the nickel cornerback. DeJean has been focusing on the nickel spot and eventually could overtake Maddox anyway.
Brown has now been listed as DNP for the second straight day to begin the week. Brown suffered his hamstring injury during last week and didn’t play against the Falcons. During the ESPN broadcast, sideline report Lisa Salters reported that Brown told her he expected to miss a couple weeks.
Wilson played through his hamstring injury against the Falcons but has now missed the first two days of this week. He was on a side field working with a trainer on Thursday.
The Eagles will practice again on Friday before releasing game statuses for Sunday’s game in New Orleans.
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