August 20, 2020
As we progress through the Philadelphia Eagles' 2020 training camp, we'll obviously keep you updated on all of the team's latest injuries, and timetables for return. However, we'll designate a place here where we'll keep track of the noteworthy injuries suffered by the Eagles' 2020 opponents.
To note, this will not include "back of the roster" types. We'll focus on starters and other key contributors.
• RB Derrius Guice: The Washington Football Team announced August 7 that they released RB Derrius Guice after multiple alleged domestic violence incidents.
Guice entered the NFL as an ultra-talented back out of LSU, who fell in the 2018 NFL Draft because of character concerns. At 59th overall, many thought of him as a steal. Through his first two seasons in the league, Guice played in just five games, carrying only 42 times, due to a string of serious knee injuries, but he showed glimpses that he could be a star running back when he played.
The Washington Football team's remaining veteran running backs are Adrian Peterson, JD McKissic, and Peyton Barber. They also selected Antonio Gibson in the third round (66th overall) in the 2020 NFL Draft, and Bryce Love in the fourth round (112th overall) in the 2019 draft. Love "redshirted" as a rookie in 2019 after tearing an ACL in his final college game in December of 2018, and has been getting positive reviews in camp.
• WR Kelvin Harmon: As a rookie in 2019, Harmon had 30 catches for 365 yards. He was going to compete for a starting job in 2020 before tearing his ACL prior to the start of camp.
• OT Saahdiq Charles: On talent alone, Charles (a fourth round rookie) probably would have been a Day 2 pick, but character concerns dropped him to Day 3. He missed six games for LSU in 2019 for disciplinary reasons, and several teams reportedly didn't have him on their draft boards as a result. Charles was competing with free agent acquisition Cornelius Lucas and 2018 third-round pick Geron Christian for the starting LT job, but he has missed time with a calf injury, and will likely miss more, which is not ideal for his chances to start as a rookie.
• No notable injuries.
• CB Trae Waynes: The Bengals signed Waynes to a three-year deal worth $42 million this offseason. He tore a pectoral muscle, and while he could return this season, he won't be back in time for the Bengals' Week 3 matchup against the Eagles.
• S Shawn Williams: Williams was carted off with a calf injury in a training camp practice. He has been a regular starter for the Bengals over the last four years, racking up 354 tackles and 10 INTs during that span. The reported "hope" is that he could be back by Week 1, but calf injuries tend to linger.
• CB Mackensie Alexander: Alexander's father went missing in Florida, causing Alexander to leave Bengals training camp. He later ended up in jail, after reportedly confronting the man last seen with his father.
Cornerback Mackensie Alexander departed training camp Tuesday as the Okeechobee County (Florida) Sheriff's Office searches for his father, Jean Odney Alexandre, who disappeared Monday while on a berry-picking trip, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported.
On Tuesday night, the Bengals cornerback was arrested on one count of battery in Florida, per the Collier County Sheriff's Office. Alexander remains in custody, as of Wednesday morning. Pelissero reported that Alexander allegedly confronted the man who left his father behind on the trip.
That is obviously a terrible situation.
Alexander is potentially a starter with Waynes out.
Update: His dad is alive and healthy!
Source says Mackensie Alexander's father is not only alive but healthy and well. Mackensie and other family members are on their way to see him.#Bengals
— Jay Morrison (@JayMorrisonATH) August 27, 2020
What a crazy story.
• C Weston Richburg: Richburg is the Niners' starting center. He tore his patellar tendon in December of last season, is currently on their PUP list, and could remain on PUP into the regular season. If he is still on the PUP list when the regular season begins, he will miss the 49ers' matchup against the Eagles.
• DL Ronald Blair: Blair tore his ACL in November of last year. He is a contributing part of the Niners' impressive defensive line rotation who had 8.5 sacks the last two seasons (25 games). Matt Barrows of The Athletic is forecasting that Blair could return to the lineup by Week 1, or shortly thereafter.
• WR Deebo Samuel: Samuel broke his foot in June, but should be ready in time to play against the Eagles Week 4. Per Barrows:
Samuel’s prognosis calls for him to be ready for action right around the time the Cardinals visit. That could create a conundrum for the team officials. Can they expect him to fully recover from the foot injury then get in shape for that game? Or do they play it ultra safe and have him start the season on the non-football injury list, which means he wouldn’t take up a roster spot initially but also that he’d have to miss the first six weeks?
The solution could be that Samuel remains on the 53-man roster to start the season but that he is inactive for the first week or so.
Samuel had a good rookie season in 2019, catching 57 passes for 802 yards and 3 TDs.
• No notable injuries.
• No notable injuries.
• LT Nate Solder: As we showed in our Giants dumpster fire piece in June, Solder was brutally bad in 2019. He was poised to retain his starting job at LT, however, but he opted out of the 2020 season. Rookie fourth overall pick Andrew Thomas will likely start at LT instead.
• CB DeAndre Baker: Baker is currently on the commissioner's exempt list, after he was charged with four counts of robbery with a firearm, stemming from an incident in Florida in May. If convicted, Baker faces a mandatory sentence of 10 years -- and up to life -- in prison.
Baker was the third of three Giants first round picks in 2019. The Giants traded fourth- and fifth-round picks to move up from pick No. 37 to pick No. 30 to select him. As a rookie, Baker played in all 16 games, starting 15, and he struggled, to say the least. According to pro-football-reference, opposing quarterbacks had a 116.2 quarterback rating when they targeted Baker, completing 54 of 88 pass attempts (61.4%) for 850 yards (9.7 YPA) and 6 TDs.
It's probably only a matter of when (not if) the Giants release him.
• CB Sam Beal: The Giants selected Beal with a third-round pick in the 2018 supplemental draft. He missed the entire 2018 season with an injury, and only played in 6 games (3 starts) in 2019. With Baker out, Beal might have won a starting job, but he opted out of the 2020 season.
They are left at corner with 2020 free agent acquisition James Bradberry, 2019 sixth-round pick Corey Ballantine, slot corner Grant Haley, 2020 fourth-round pick Darnay Holmes, and 2020 seventh-round pick Chris Williamson, among some other undrafted guys.
• S Xavier McKinney: McKinney broke his foot, and will have surgery to repair it. He was projected to start at safety for the Giants as a rookie this season.
McKinney was a versatile playmaker in college who drew comparisons to another former Bama DB in Minkah Fitzpatrick. The Giants selected him in the second round (36th overall), which was a good value, in my view. With Baker and Beal already out, the Giants' secondary is paper thin.
McKinney could return later in the season, according to Jordan Raanan of ESPN:
There is hope that McKinney can return and his rookie season is not totally lost, sources told ESPN. A late-November return -- after the Giants' Week 12 bye week -- seems possible if all goes well with his recovery.
Of course, that would be after each of the Eagles' matchups against the Giants.
• LB David Mayo: Mayo reportedly tore a meniscus in his knee. The Giants picked him up last season after the Niners cut him after training camp. He played in all 16 games for the Giants in 2019, starting 13, tallying 82 tackles and two sacks. Good run defender, bad in coverage.
Mayo was battling for a starting job in 2020. Like McKinney, Mayo could potentially return this season, but it's unlikely that will happen in time for either of the Eagles' matchups against the Giants.
• DT Gerald McCoy: McCoy tore his quadriceps tendon in practice August 17, and he is done for the season. He was still a good player, but at 32 years old, not the near-elite player he once was. McCoy had at least 5 sacks in each of the last 7 seasons, though his numbers have consistently been on the downswing over that period. We covered McCoy's injury in more depth here.
• DE Randy Gregory: Gregory remains on indefinite suspension.
• LB Mack Wilson: Wilson suffered a hyper-extended knee in practice on August 18, and if he has surgery to repair it, he will miss the season. Per Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com, Wilson is seeking a second opinion, and it may take a few weeks for a final decision.
Wilson played in all 16 games as a rookie, starting 14. He had 82 tackles, an INT, a forced fumble, and a sack.
• S Grant Delpit: Delpit suffered a torn Achilles and is done for the season. Delpit was thought of by some as a likely first-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, but fell into the second round, where the Browns selected him with the 44th overall pick. He was poised to start at FS for Cleveland as a rookie.
• RB Rashad Penny: Penny tore an ACL in December of last year. He's on PUP now, will likely remain on PUP into the regular season, but is likely to be playing by the time the Seahawks face the Eagles in Week 12.
• WR/TE Devin Funchess: Funchess opted out of the 2020 season. His best season was in 2017, when he had 63 catches for 840 yards and 8 TDs.
• LB Kiko Alonso: Kiko tore his ACL during the 2019 preseason. He started training camp on the PUP list. He should be good to go by Week 14.
• RT Marcus Gilbert: Gilbert opted out of the 2020 season. He was projected to start at RT. In his absence, rookie third-round pick Josh Jones seems to be most logical replacement.
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