December 18, 2023
The Philadelphia Eagles and Seattle Seahawks both have ailing quarterbacks, as Jalen Hurts is nursing an illness, and Geno Smith is still hampered by a groin injury. Here are the Eagles' and Seahawks' inactives, with analysis.
Tanner McKee is the emergency quarterback. Jalen Hurts will start.
• CB Darius Slay: Slay had his knee scoped and will likely miss multiple games. It is expected that rookie Kelee Ringo will make his first NFL start in place of Slay, and he'll have to do it against DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
• RG Cam Jurgens: Jurgens is out with a pectoral injury. He'll likely be replaced in the lineup by Sua Opeta, who started games earlier this season against the Rams, Jets, Dolphins, and Commanders. He starts against the Rams and Jets went reasonably well enough; his starts against the Dolphins and Commanders did not.
• LB Zach Cunningham: Cunningham has been the Eagles' best linebacker this season. Nicholas Morrow and presumably Shaq Leonard will start at linebacker. Not ideal.
• RB Rashaad Penny: The Eagles didn't even let Penny dress against his old team.
• TE Albert Okwuegbunam: I'm not sure why exactly Okwuegbunam is on the roster.
• 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 on Thursday. That's a bad sign for his availability anytime soon.
• CB Avonte Maddox: Maddox had surgery to repair a torn pectoral muscle. His season is likely over. 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 for the bulk of the season with seemingly a different plan every week for a while, but Bradley Roby has become something of a full-time starting slot.
Update: Maddox's 21-day practice window will be opened next week, per Tim McManus.
• 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.
Geno Smith is active.
Tonight’s @Seahawks inactives: pic.twitter.com/ae7jvDN3Mp
— Seahawks PR (@seahawksPR) December 18, 2023
• CB Devon Witherspoon: Witherspoon is in the conversation for Defensive Rookie of the Year. He is a really fun player to watch. 65 tackles, 3 sacks, a forced fumble, a pick-six, and 16 pass breakups. Witherspoon got hurt against the 49ers Week 14 and did not return to that game. Big loss for the Seahawks defense.
• S Jamal Adams: Honestly the Eagles would be better off if Adams played. He can't cover.
• EDGE Uchenna Nwosu: Nwosu is one of the NFL's more underrated players, in my opinion. In 2022, he had 66 tackles (12 for loss), 9.5 sacks, 26 QB hits, 3 forced fumbles, 2 recoveries, and 4 pass breakups. He suffered a pectoral injury in October and had season-ending surgery.
• OG Phil Haynes: Haynes had started 8 games (7 at RG, 1 at LG) for the Seahawks this season. He landed on IR with a toe injury. Rookie fourth-round pick Anthony Bradford has taken over as the starter at RG.
• DL Mike Morris: Rookie fifth-round pick played Week 1 (3 tackles), but landed on IR with a shoulder injury.
Follow Jimmy & PhillyVoice on Twitter: @JimmyKempski | thePhillyVoice
Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice Sports
Add Jimmy's RSS feed to your feed reader
