Oftentimes, we have criticized Nick Sirianni's offseason workout plans. 'The Philadelphia Eagles aren't working hard enough'. That's what we said. We asked questions about how a team gets better at playing football without playing football.
Though we complained about his approach (or what was possibly an approach he was instructed to take), we understood the mindset. The goal was always to get as many players to the regular season as close to 100-percent healthy as humanly possible.
Then, came the collapse occurred last season. The approach changed. Philly worked harder during the offseason than they had in years past, but unfortunately, some things are out of our control.
Jalen Carter's 'illness' might be more serious than we thought (or hoped).
Since the final whistle blew to end the NFC Championship Game, we've had our minds on everyone who was wounded. We kept our fingers crossed while thinking about Kenneth Gainwell's concussion.
Then, we found ourselves staring at the injury report on the Wednesday leading up to Super Bowl LIX. What the heck was up with that 'illness' Jalen Carter was dealing with?
Wednesday's Injury Report#SBLIX pic.twitter.com/6dxY1Js3Cj
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) February 5, 2025
We dug and continued digging. No one knew anything. Wednesday eventually bled over into Thursday. We finally received an update, and it isn't one that we were hoping to read.
Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio told me Jalen Carter has an illness that is going around through some of the team, but he hopes Jalen will be good for the Super Bowl. Jalen was a limited participant in practice yesterday and was not at the media sessions. pic.twitter.com/l3nHE55Deo
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) February 6, 2025
No one has ever questioned Vic Fangio's honesty. If this is the diagnosis, we trust it, but we won't lie and say we aren't a little worried.
No further info is known at the time of this story's release. We'll continue to update as more details are made available.
In the meantime, Philly is home to a top-notch medical team. Whatever is going on, we hope they get to the bottom of it. We're also curious. Who are the other Eagles who are ill? What are their statuses?
Clearly, when facing a team as talented as the Kansas City Chiefs, the opposing team's best shot is required. It would be nice to have all hands on deck.
The Birds are, no doubt, a better team with Jalen Carter on the field. Look no further than his heroics in the Divisio0nal Round win over the Los Angeles Rams. You can best believe we'll be watching this one closely as the story continues to develop.
Update: Good news! Jalen Carter was a full participant at Eagles practice on Thursday.
Thursday's Injury Report#SBLIX pic.twitter.com/rLjHTPW6Pp
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) February 6, 2025