The Philadelphia Eagles issued their third and final official injury report on Friday in advance of their Week 17 game against the Arizona Cardinals.
The big news is that Avonte Maddox is going to play.
The Eagles’ top nickel cornerback was listed without a game status after fully participating in practice for the second week in a row. Maddox suffered what was originally thought to be a season-ending pectoral injury in Week 2. The defense could stand to benefit from his return, although he might be on a limited snap count while he gets re-acclimated to game speed. The Eagles have been no stranger to rotating defensive backs when they’ve been healthy anyway.
Landon Dickerson and Nicholas Morrow are also listed without game statuses.
Dickerson missed Week 16 after having surgery on his thumb. He fully participated in practice all week so he’ll be ready to start at left guard. Sua Opeta will head back to the bench.
Morrow will play despite being limited in practice this week. He might start next to Shaq Leonard with Ben VanSumeren potentially rotating in.
Zach Cunningham and Albert Okwuegbunam are QUESTIONABLE.
Cunningham was a limited participant in practice all week. He might be a game-time decision. The guess here is that the Eagles will keep him out one more game but we’ll see when inactives are announced at 11:30 AM Eastern on Sunday morning. If the Eagles aren’t expecting to have Cunningham (or they want to be prepared just in case), they could look to temporarily elevate Brandon Smith from the practice squad again for this game. They have until 4:00 PM Eastern on Saturday to make that call.
Albert O is a brand new addition to the injury report due to a hamstring injury. With the Eagles needing to open a roster spot to activate Maddox from injured reserve, they could look to put Albert O on IR. Gee, what a coincidence!
Darius Slay is OUT.
Slay hasn’t practiced since undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery. And so he’ll miss his third straight game. It was previously reported that Slay will return before the end of the regular season. So, perhaps he’ll be back out there in Week 18? Otherwise, we won’t see him until the first playoff game.
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES INJURY REPORT (FRIDAY)
OUT
CB Darius Slay (knee)
QUESTIONABLE
LB Zach Cunningham (knee) TE Albert Okwuegbunam (hamstring)
…
RESERVE/INJURED
LB Shaun Bradley LB Nakobe Dean S Justin Evans OT Roderick Johnson CB Avonte Maddox (designated to return) CB Zech McPhearson
Maddox had his 21-day practice window opened on December 21 and he will be activated to play in Week 17. There is no timeline for a Dean return. Evans is out for the season. Bradley, Johnson, and McPhearson will miss the entire 2023 season since they were placed on IR ahead of roster cuts to the 53-player limit.
RESERVE/SUSPENDED BY COMMISSIONER
CB Isaiah Rodgers
Rodgers is suspended for the entire 2023 season due to gambling. He can apply for reinstatement in 2024.
ARIZONA CARDINALS INJURY REPORT (FRIDAY)
The Cardinals placed Marquise Brown, who ranks second on Arizona in receiving yards behind tight end Trey McBride, on injured reserve.
They also placed starting defensive lineman Jonathan Ledbetter on IR and announced starting defensive tackle Leki Fotu is not being activated from IR this week.
Kyler Murray is among four players questionable to play.
Arizona’s starting quarterback missed practice on Wednesday and Thursday due to illness. He was limited on Friday. Murray will probably play but he missed a good amount of practice time to prepare for this game.
Nickel cornerback Garrett Williams is also questionable after being limited in practice all week. Old friend Andre Chachere could be starting in the slot.
The Cardinals are notably missing leading tackler and former Eagle Kyzir White, who is on IR.
OUT
WR Marquise Brown (heel) DL Jonathan Ledbetter (knee) DT Leki Fotu (hand)
QUESTIONABLE
QB Kyler Murray (illness) LB Owen Pappoe (ankle) DB Bobby Price (quadricep) CB Garrett Williams (knee)
…
RESERVE/INJURED
WR Marquise Brown DL L.J. Collier OL Pat Elflein CB Rashad Fenton DT Leki Fotu (designated to return) OL Jon Gaines II LS Matt Hembrough DL Jonathan Ledbetter RB Marlon Mack DB Bobby Price (designated to return) TE Geoff Swaim DT Carlos Watkins LB Kyzir White LB Josh Woods
