Eagles Injury Update: Mychal Kendricks, Ronald Darby return to practice

Philadelphia Eagles CB Ronald Darby and LB Mychal Kendricks get back to work.

The Philadelphia Eagles are coming off of a big prime-time win last week. Although they added another “W” to the win/loss column, they still took a few losses elsewhere. On the defensive side of things, middle linebacker Jordan Hicks will out for the remainder of the season. He was carried off of the field after the second play of the game last week and was later diagnosed with a ruptured Achilles.

The defense will definitely feel the loss of Hicks, but that doesn’t mean that the linebackers unit is done. As long as Nigel Bradham and Mychal Kendricks can stay healthy, they will put in enough work to lift the pressure off of backup middle linebacker, Joe Walker. The biggest concern with the linebacker position at this time is Mychal Kendricks’ health.

Kendricks was a surprise inactive last week due to having hamstring issues. Eagles head coach Doug Pederson said that Kendricks was on the verge of playing, but they decided to sit him out last minute. Well, good news now for Kendricks. He returned to practice on Thursday when the Eagles held their first full practice since the game last Monday.

Cornerback Ronald Darby has also been spotted out on the field suited up as well. Darby had a surprise return to practice last week, despite being limited for the most part. The Eagles decided it would be best to list him out against the Washington Redskins. Now his status for Sunday will be up in the air.

Who plays on gameday?

Considering Kendricks almost made it into the starting lineup last Monday, it is likely that he will play against the San Francisco 49ers. It has been a little over a week since Kendricks has had a full practice. He needs to make the most out of all of his reps this Sunday so the Eagles can assure themselves that they will be fine without Hicks.

Next: Josh Norman shows love to Carson Wentz after MNF

As far as Darby goes, his status for Sunday will still remain in question. His original timetable had him set to return as late as Week 7. As we head into Week 8, it wouldn’t be that much of a surprise to see them hold him out just one more week. Obviously, if he is ready to go then they should play him. But if there are any doubts at all, he should wait it out just one more week. The current situation at cornerback has been solid. There shouldn’t be a reason to rush him back when he will be needed later on down the stretch.