September 17, 2019
According to ESPN's Tim McManus, Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson will be sidelined for the next two weeks with an abdominal strain. Originally, the team classified it as a groin injury, but the change likely simply means the injury is in the upper groin, lower abdomen area.
DeSean Jackson has an abdominal strain that is expected to sideline him for about two weeks, according to sources.
— Tim McManus (@Tim_McManus) September 17, 2019
That means that Jackson, who only played a handful of snaps in the Eagles' 24-20 loss to the Falcons on Sunday night, will miss each of the next two games (vs. DET, at GB) with the Birds facing the Packers on Thursday night in Week 4.
While the timetable remains TBD, my understanding is #Eagles WR DeSean Jackson isn't expected to play Sunday against the #Lions because of his groin injury and a quick turnaround to Thursday night game vs. #Packers will make that tough, too. Less speed on the field.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) September 17, 2019
But Jackson could've missed even more time, as McManus reports. One of the doctors consulted on his injury acctually recommended surgery, which would've mean losing D-Jax for a month and a half.
One doctor recommended surgery, which would have shelved the 32-year-old for about six weeks, but Jackson wants to return to action as soon as possible, so he opted against it, a source said. [espn.com]
In the Eagles opener, Jackson played a huge role in the win with a pair of 50-plus yard touchdowns to help spark the comeback against Washington.
Jackson was one of several Eagles injured against Atlanta. Some of the other injured players include fellow wideout Alshon Jeffery (calf), who scored the other two touchdowns in Week 1 and could also miss the next two games, and tight end Dallas Goedert (calf), who apparently re-injured the same calf that was bothering him during camp. The Eagles already reportedly promoted tight end Alex Ellis from the practice squad to help fill the void left by Goedert.
On Monday, head coach Doug Pederson said that he didn't think the injuries were too serious, but cautioned that he hadn't yet consulted with the team's medical staff.
"It's hard to say, if it was a must-win game, a playoff situation, I think that they would try to play through it, would try to gut it out, but it's hard to say," he said.
With Jackson, Jeffery and Goedert all likely to miss time, that leaves Zach Ertz as Carson Wentz' top option and Nelson Agholor as the team's No. 1 receiver — he might be worth a waiver claim in your fantasy league — with Mack Hollins and rookie J.J. Arcega-Whiteside behind him. That was almost enough for Wentz to complete the comeback against Atlanta, and now the offense will have a full week of practice with those receivers taking more first-team snaps.
But still, those are some pretty big shoes to fill, and the Eagles have two big games on the horizon.
Could that lead Howie Roseman to go out and bring in some help to fill out his depth chart for the next few weeks? Stay tuned...
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