Former Eagles who were robbed of potentially great NFL seasons because of preseason injuries

The Philadelphia Eagles are well into their training camp schedule now. We're going to talk about this team ad nauseam with one thought in the back of our minds. Please let everyone get to Week 1 of the regular season as healthy as possible. Zero names on the injury report would be ideal.

We'll be knocking on wood until our knuckles bleed. We have already seen a few players around the NFL go down with unfortunate injuries: Naheim Hines, in a freak accident, got hit by a jet ski and tore his ACL, Joe Burrow had a calf thing, Jalen Ramsey went down with a knee issue and will reportedly be out until December. C.J. Gardner-Johnson also hurt his knee, but after a few days off, he has returned to practice. That's a good thing. In professional football, things can change in a flash.

Again, we hope the Birds get to Week 1 in Foxborough intact, but sometimes, things happen. No one knows that better than BIrds fans. We have all had our nightmares. Let's grab a beer and take a trip down Suppressed Memory Lane.

Here are a few preseason and/or off-season scares of the past 15 years or so that we would much rather forget. Feel free to take a drag from your cigarette whenever you need to.

What might have been had this quartet of Philadelphia Eagles not endured preseason injuries?

1. Cre'Von LeBlanc (2019)

Cre'Von LeBlanc had his moments. He was never a real monster though, until recently when he brought Dallas their first Football championship of this millennium.

In 2019, he suffered a Lisfranc sprain at training camp. Normally that's just regular amounts of bad, but this was extra bad because his injury led directly to the Eagles' acquisition of Orlando Scandrick who was just downright awful.

2. Brandon Brooks (2020)

The latter part of Brandon Brooks' career landed him in the elite tier. Sadly, however, things ended prematurely because of injuries. He battled through physical issues. He also dealt with anxiety, but as he always did, Brandon came out on top as a winner. Our guy was a champion in every sense of the word..

His 2019 season ended with a shoulder dislocation, and things got worse when tore his Achilles in the off-season before the 2020 season got going. Looking back at it, we all should have seen how much of a travesty that season was going to end up being at that exact moment.

3. DeSean Jackson (2009)

As great as DeSean Jackson was, it's easy to ask what he might have accomplished without some of those nagging injuries he so often tried to play through. None of the off-season issues wound up being the sole reason he missed any time while with the Eagles, BUT they certainly did not help him out either.

In 2009, D-Jax's off-season groin strain lingered and affected him for the entire year. The shocking thing is it didn't develop into a hamstring sprain or anything more serious. He missed one game because of a concussion and STILL caught 62 passes while stacking 1,156 yards and nine TDs.

4. Jeremy Maclin (2010, 2011, 2013)

Jeremy Maclin was the king of the preseason and off-season health scare. The talent was obvious, but what might he have accomplished with better luck? Let’s all take a collective deep breath before we talk about him... 

During the 2010 training camp, he was carted off the field with what looked like a super duper bad knee thing. Luckily it was just a bone bruise, and he was able to put up 964 yards and ten touchdowns during the season. 

Before the 2011 season, Maclin had a lymphoma scare. SHEESH. Luckily it was only a scare, and he ended the season with 859 yards and five touchdowns. 

Then came the 2013 Eagles training camp where he tore his ACL. That knocked him out for the entire season. DeSean Jackson said, “He just came off the line of scrimmage, and his knee buckled a little bit." With an ACL you don’t know how a player is going to recover. Are they going to turn into a pumpkin? Are they going to pick up right where they left off? Are they going to have a Rookie of the Year style season where they turn into a freak of nature athlete after an unfortunate accident?

In 2014, Maclin dropped the gauntlet and bounced back in a mighty way. He threw down a season with 1,318 yards and ten touchdowns off of 85 receptions. So… you know… he did the Rookie of the Year thing.

Rob Gronkowski won the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year Award, but Maclin certainly had a case. As it stands, he's still one of the most gifted wideouts of the past two decades.

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