January 19, 2018
The Philadelphia Eagles are pretty far from "healthy," as they lost Carson Wentz, Jason Peters, Jordan Hicks, and Darren Sproles for the year. However, based just on their current 53-man roster, there were no unknown injuries on the first day of practice as Birds came out of their divisional round playoff game against the Atlanta Falcons relatively unscathed.
The Vikings list four players on their injury report, most notably WR Adam Thielen and S Andrew Sendejo.
Here's the final Friday injury report, with analysis.
• LB Dannell Ellerbe (hamstring): Ellerbe is the team's starting middle linebacker. He was listed as questionable on the injury report last week as well, but played. On Friday, he was a limited participant in practice. Against a Vikings offense that loves to pound the run, Ellerbe's presence is more important than usual.
• QB Carson Wentz: The MVP award was going to be given to either Tom Brady or Carson Wentz, so obviously, the loss of Wentz cannot be overstated. Filling in for Wentz, of course, has been Nick Foles.
• LT Jason Peters: Peters tore his ACL and MCL against the Redskins. Halapoulivaati Vaitai has filled in and has struggled at times.
• LB Jordan Hicks: Hicks wasn't off to his best season this year when he went down with a ruptured Achilles. Still, it's a big loss for the Eagles' defense, though the Eagles have adapted.
• RB Darren Sproles: Sproles was lost for the season with a torn ACL. On the field, Sproles was the Eagles' most well-rounded running back, as he can run inside, run outside, be a weapon in the passing game, and he was easily the team's best back in pass protection. Obviously, because of his small size, however, Sproles has been never been used as a 'workhorse' type of back, but he was typically on the field in the Eagles' most crucial situations. He was also the team's primary punt returner.
• K Caleb Sturgis: Sturgis was placed on IR with a quad injury suffered Week 1 against the Redskins. He was replaced by Jake Elliott.
• DT Shamar Stephen, (knee/ankle): Stephen got rolled up on against the Saints in the divisional round. He is part of the Vikings' defensive line rotation. On the season, he had 28 tackles and 1 sack.
• WR Adam Thielen (lower back): Thielen was a second team All Pro this season, catching 91 passes for 1276 yards and 4 TDs. If Thielen cannot go, that would be a huge loss for the Vikings.
• S Andrew Sendejo (concussion): Sendejo has clearly not yet passed through the concussion protocol. He is a starting safety and a good player. On the season, he had 80 tackles, 2 INTs, and 7 pass breakups. His backup is Anthony Harris, who would be a significant downgrade.
• CB Mackensie Alexander (rib): Alexander got lit up like a Christmas tree by the Saints in the divisional round.
• RB Dalvin Cook: Cook was off to a great start in his rookie season, as he had 74 carries for 354 yards (4.8 YPC) and 2 TDs in his first four games before being lost for the season with a torn ACL. Cook also chipped in 11 receptions for 90 yards (8.2 YPC).
A highlight reel:
That guy would've looked good in Eagle green in the second round, huh? Cook's replacements have been Latavius Murray and Jerick McKinnon, which has not stopped the Vikings from pounding the run, as we noted in our matchups to watch.
• LG Nick Easton: Easton broke his ankle and is done for the season. In his absence, the Vikings have re-shuffled their OL, moving RT Mike Remmers to LG, with second year pro Rashod Hill filling in at RT.
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