December 25, 2023

Eagles-Giants Week 16 inactives, with analysis

Will the Eagles be missing any surprise players in Week 16?

By Jimmy Kempski
PhillyVoice Staff

Eric Hartline/USA TODAY Sports

The Eagles must have a better plan at linebacker than they did last offseason.

The Philadelphia Eagles had some new names on their injury report this, and will be down three starters in Darius Slay, Landon Dickerson, and Zach Cunningham. Their Week 16 opponent, the New York Giants, lost starting quarterback Daniel Jones for the season, but have actually played better since he went down.

Here are the Eagles' and Giants' inactives, with analysis:

Tanner McKee is the emergency quarterback. The Eagles called up DB Tristan McCollum and LB Brandon Smith from the practice squad to the gameday roster.

• CB Darius Slay: The Eagles missed Slay last weekend against the Seahawks. He will continue to rehab his recently scoped knee. The Giants' leading receiver, Darius Slayton only has 512 receiving yards this season.

• LG Landon Dickerson: Sua Opeta will likely get the start at LG. On the bright side, Cam Jurgens will return from injury and start at RG.

• LB Zach Cunningham: Cunningham is the Eagles' best linebacker. He's out again today, as is Nakobe Dean, as Nicholas Morrow.

• LB Nicholas Morrow: The Eagles will roll with Shaq Leonard, undrafted rookie Ben VanSumeren, and practice squad callup Brandon Smith at linebacker today. 😬

Patrick Johnson could also get some looks at LB. The Eagles probably shouldn't have cut Christian Elliss.

• RB Rashaad Penny: RB4

• TE Albert Okwuegbunam: TE4

Notable players on IR, PUP, suspension, etc.

• LB Nakobe Dean: Entering the 2023 season, Dean was the clear No. 1 linebacker on the roster, as the team was counting on him to take on a much bigger role than what he had as a rookie in 2022. That has not gone to plan, as he landed on injured reserve after suffering a foot injury Week 1 against the Patriots. He returned Week 6 and played in four games before again suffering a foot injury that landed him on injured reserve for a second time this season. When he has played, Dean has been fine as a run defender and as a tackler (PFF has him down for 0 missed tackles), but he has struggled in coverage. PFF has him down for 13 completions on 14 targets for 120 yards.

Dean was seen on a Roll-A-Bout in the locker room last week. He's likely done for the season.

• CB Avonte Maddox: Maddox had surgery to repair a torn pectoral muscle in September. The oft-injured Maddox missed games at three different junctures during the season in 2022, and was only able to play in two games in 2023. He also missed three games in 2018, four games in 2019, and six games in 2020. He is one of the best slot corners in the NFL when healthy, but it seems there will always be durability concerns. The Eagles had instability at slot corner all season, and Maddox's absence has proven to something of a big loss. The Eagles opened Maddox's 21-day practice window on Thursday.

• S Justin Evans: Evans was the Eagles' choice to start opposite Reed Blankenship to begin the 2023 season, as he beat out Terrell Edmunds and Sydney Brown during training camp for that opportunity. He started four games for the Eagles, and when healthy, was a competent player. He landed on IR with a knee injury, lost his starting job when the Eagles traded for Kevin Byard, and reverted to season-ending IR when he was unable to make progress toward a return.

GIANTS INACTIVES
WR Parris Campbell
S Gervarrius Owens
OLB Boogie Basham
OLB Benton Whitley
C Sean Harlow
TE Lawrence Cager
NT Rakeem Nunez-Roches pic.twitter.com/vrj9EpGtL6
— Dan Salomone (@Dan_Salomone) December 25, 2023

Star DT Dexter Lawrence was listed as questionable on the injury report, but he will play.

Notable players on IR, PUP, suspension, etc.

• QB Daniel Jones: Jones tore his ACL in October. His season is over. His final stat line of the season: 108 of 160 (67.5%) for 909 yards, 2 TDs, 6 INTs, 30 sacks, and 4 fumbles in 6 games (1-5 in those starts). 😬

Tyrod Taylor initially took over for Jones, followed by Tommy DeVito after Taylor went down.

• K Graham Gano: Gano has been a good kicker in the NFL for a long time, but he had a rough season, going 11 for 17 on field goal attempts before going on IR with a left knee injury that required surgery. Gano was replaced by Randy Bullock, who was injured Week 15 against the Saints.

• The Giants oddly have three injured backup offensive linemen, but an otherwise (mostly) healthy starting lineup:

OL Joshua Ezeudu: Ezeudu started five games at LT for the Giants early in the season in place of the then-injured Andrew Thomas.
OG Shane Lemieux: Lemieux has appeared in four games, starting 1.
OT Matt Peart: Swing tackle, 6 career starts.

None of those guys are any good.