Eagles Injury Update: Kendricks and Hicks limited at practice
Eagles linebackers Mychal Kendricks and Jordan Hicks saw limited time at Friday’s practice.
As the Philadelphia Eagles get healthier on the offensive line and in the defensive backfield, they run into some issues at the linebacker position. Outside linebacker Mychal Kendricks and middle linebacker Jordan Hicks were limited at practice on Friday. Both players are dealing with lower-body injuries and may be questionable for Monday night’s game.
Hicks injured his calf during the first half of the Eagles game last Thursday night against the Carolina Panthers. Although Kendricks and Nigel Bradham made up big time for his absence, there is no guarantee that they can put up major stats like that every week.
As far as Kendricks goes, he has been dealing with hamstring issues once again. Over the last two seasons, Kendricks has struggled with nagging hamstring injuries. This season doesn’t seem to be any different. In fact, Kendricks missed some time in training camp during the offseason for the same issues.
Monday night’s status:
As of now, both players seem to be healthy enough to play on Monday night against the Washington Redskins. Eagles head coach Doug Pederson hasn’t had much to say on either of their injuries. Although they have been limited, the Eagles are most likely playing it safe.
The depth at the linebacker position has clearly been thin this season. Even though Bradham, Hicks and Kendricks have all been playing exceptional football, the health issues have been quite concerning. Last Thursday was the second game this season that Hicks has left before halftime due to an injury. Although none of his injuries have been major, the Eagles attempted to bring in some veteran help.
Earlier in the week, they worked out some veteran free agents at linebacker. None of them seemed to impress the coaching staff since everyone left unsigned. Instead, the Eagles decided to call up one of their young talents on the practice squad.
After placing safety Chris Maragos on the injured reserve, they signed rookie linebacker Nathan Gerry to the active roster. Gerry recorded four tackles in the two preseason games that he played in this past summer.
Next: The Eagles are treating Monday night like a playoff game
The chances of the Eagles having to dip into the bottom of the depth chart is slim, but it shouldn’t be surprising if Kendricks and Hicks are struggling with injuries. The Eagles just might have to rotate them more than usual to assure that everyone stays healthy and avoids any long-term issues. So the additional depth should help on Monday night.