October 28, 2016
As they've been all season long, the Philadelphia Eagles come into their Week 8 matchup against the Dallas Cowboys very healthy, with the exception of one very important player, DT Bennie Logan. Meanwhile, the Cowboys will likely be getting Dez Bryant back from a three-game absence with a knee injury.
Here is the Friday injury report.
• DT Bennie Logan: Logan's absence hurts the Eagles' run defense against the best rushing offense in the NFL, as we noted in greater detail earlier today.
• LB Kamu Grugier-Hill: The Eagles acquired Grugier-Hill off of waivers after 53-man cutdowns to contribute on special teams. Grugier-Hill was flagged for running into the punter a week ago against the Vikings.
• DT Taylor Hart: Hart was signed earlier this week in anticipation of Logan being out. Doug Pederson said on Friday that Hart will likely play on Sunday.
• RT Lane Johnson (suspended 10 games): The Halapoulivaati Vaitai project continues.
• CB Ron Brooks (IR): As a player, Brooks isn't exactly a world-beater, as he doesn't have a single interception, sack, or forced fumble over his five-year NFL career, however, his loss will further deplete an already thin group at cornerback. After Brooks went down with his injury Sunday, safety Malcolm Jenkins dropped down into the slot in nickel packages, with Jaylen Watkins coming off the bench to play safety.
• QB Tony Romo: Romo broke a bone in his back in the Cowboys' third preseason game against the Seahawks. The initial prognosis was that he would miss 6-10 weeks, but later the Cowboys did not put a timetable on his return. With rookie Dak Prescott playing well, the Cowboys have held off on rushing Romo back before he's ready, like they did a year ago..
• DE Ryan Davis: Back of the roster guy.
• WR Dez Bryant: As we noted earlier this week, Bryant is reportedly likely to play this Sunday against the Eagles. Here is his history playing against the Eagles:
| Dez Bryant vs. Eagles | Rec | Yards | YPC | TD |
| 11/8/15 | 5 | 104 | 20.8 | 1 |
| 12/14/14 | 6 | 114 | 19.0 | 3 |
| 11/27/14 | 4 | 73 | 18.3 | 0 |
| 12/29/13 | 8 | 99 | 12.4 | 1 |
| 10/20/13 | 8 | 110 | 13.8 | 0 |
| 12/2/12 | 6 | 98 | 16.3 | 2 |
| 11/11/12 | 3 | 87 | 29.0 | 1 |
| 12/24/11 | 6 | 62 | 10.3 | 0 |
| 10/30/11 | 3 | 28 | 9.0 | 0 |
| TOTAL | 49 | 775 | 15.8 | 8 |
In the three games he has played for Dallas this season, Bryant has 11 catches for 150 yards and 1 TD. In 2015, Bryant had a disappointing season, when he had just 31 catches for 401 yards and 3 TDs in nine games. Bryant's return comes at a time when the Eagles are thin at cornerback.
• TE Jason Witten: Witten is listed on the Cowboys' report with a back injury. You can bet he'll play.
• CB Orlando Scandrick: Scandrick missed the last four games with a hamstring injury, but should play this Sunday against the Eagles. He is arguably the Cowboys' best cornerback.
• CB Morris Claiborne: Claiborne was looking very much like a bust after the Cowboys traded up to the sixth overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft to select him, but he is having his best season in the pros this year.
• OT Tyron Smith: Smith has played with a back injury the last two games after missing Weeks 3 and 4. He is among the best left tackles in the NFL, although he has struggled at times with the Eagles' rushers, most notably Brandon Graham.
• DE DeMarcus Lawrence: On a team that doesn't have a player with more than 10.5 career sacks, Lawrence is probably the best pass rusher on the team. He'll likely line up opposite Jason Peters.
• DL David Irving: Irving was an undrafted free agent in 2015 who has turned into a nice rotational player for the Cowboys.
• OT Chaz Green: Green started at LT for the Cowboys Weeks 3 and 4 when Tyron Smith was out.
• RB Lance Dunbar: Dunbar is an effective receiver out of the backfield for the Cowboys. In the Cowboys' Week 2 win in Philly last year, he had 3 catches for 45 yards.
• LB Kyle Wilbur: Linebacker depth.
• LB Rolando McClain (suspended 10 games): McClain was suspended for 10 games for violating the league's policy on substance abuse. He was previously the Cowboys' starting linebacker.
• DE Randy Gregory (suspended 14 games): Gregory was suspended for 10 games for violating the league's policy on substance abuse. Gregory has two more suspensions than sacks for his career.
• LB Jaylon Smith (NFI): It was widely expected that Smith would miss the entire season when the Cowboys drafted him in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft, and nothing has changed.
• RB Darren McFadden (NFI): McFadden was the Cowboys' leading rusher in 2015, with 1089 yards. Their rushing attack is doing just fine without him.
• OG La'el Collins (IR): Big name offensive lineman who is a bit overrated because of a few sporadic highlight reel blocks. The Cowboys' offensive line is arguably better with Ronald Leary playing LG than they were with Collins.
• QB Kellen Moore (IR): Moore was originally Tony Romo's backup to start training camp. Would Dak Prescott have even seen the field in a regular season game had Moore not suffered a broken ankle?
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