October 18, 2024

Eagles-Giants Week 7 injury report, with analysis

Jordan Mailata and Dallas Goedert didn't practice as both seem increasingly likely to miss time.

By Jimmy Kempski
PhillyVoice Staff

Eric Hartline/Imagn Images

The Giants could be without LT Andrew Thomas for the rest of the season.

The Philadelphia Eagles listed nine players on their initial injury report ahead of their Week 7 matchup against the New York Giants. The Giants listed 10 players on their initial injury report, which includes some of their best players.

Here's the Eagles-Giants injury report, with analysis...

Player	Injury	Wed	Thurs	Fri	Status
LT Jordan Mailata	Hamstring	DNP	DNP	DNP (IR)	Out
TE Dallas Goedert	Hamstring	DNP	DNP	DNP	Out
DT Milton Williams	Ankle	DNP	Limited	Full	-
CB Darius Slay	Knee	Limited	DNP	Full	Questionable
EDGE Jalyx Hunt	Ankle	Limited	Full	Full	-
LB Oren Burks	Groin	Limited	Limited	Full	-
S Sydney Brown	Knee	Full	Full	Full	-
WR Ainias Smith	Ankle	Full	Full	Full	-
TE Albert Okwuegbunam	Abdomen	Full	Full	Full	-
DT Jalen Carter	Shoulder	-	DNP	Full	-
CB Eli Ricks	Groin	-	DNP	DNP	Questionable
DT Byron Young	Hamstring	-	-	DNP	Out

Wednesday notes:

• Nick Sirianni said during his Monday Zoom call that Mailata would miss "a couple" weeks. My interpretation was that he did not specifically mean two weeks, but rather he would be out at least two weeks. Mailata did not look good when he was helped off the field against the Browns, and subsequently carted to the locker room. Fred Johnson got first-team reps in practice on Wednesday, as opposed to moving Mekhi Becton to LT.

• Goedert only played three snaps against the Browns, left with a hamstring injury, and did not return. Grant Calcaterra is likely to start on Sunday against the Giants.

• Slay should be good to go for Sunday.

Thursday notes:

• The Eagles' injury report got worse on Thursday, as Carter did not practice with a shoulder injury, and Slay went from limited on Wednesday to a non-participant on Thursday.

Friday notes:

• Carter will play.

• It's interesting that Slay was a full participant on Friday but is still questionable.

Other notable players on IR, PUP, suspension, etc.

• WR Britain Covey (IR): Covey has been the team's primary punt returner since 2022. He was arguably the best punt returner in the NFL last season. As a receiver, Covey hasn't gotten many opportunities in the regular offense, but he started to get a little bit of a role this season. In the first three games, he had 7 catches for 34 yards. He previously only had 4 catches in the first two years of his NFL career.

• S James Bradberry (IR): The Eagles kept Bradberry on their active roster for no good reason at 53-man cutdowns, and then the next day he suffered a "lower body" injury that will keep him out 6-8 weeks.

• WR Ainias Smith (IR): After a shaky camp that finished mildly promisingly, Smith conveniently suffered an ankle injury that allowed the Eagles to IR him while also being able to keep him on their roster. His 21-day window for return was opened last week.

• TE Albert Okwuegbunam (IR): The Eagles burned an IR-DFR designation on Okwuegbunam prior to 53-man cutdowns. The Eagles opened his 21-day practice window for return on Wednesday.

MORE: Eagles thoughts on A.J. Brown, Cooper DeJean, more

Player	Injury	Wed	Thurs	Fri	Status
LT Andrew Thomas	Foot	DNP	IR		Out
DT Dexter Lawrence	Hip	DNP	DNP	Limited	Questionable
EDGE Brian Burns	Groin	DNP	DNP	Limited	Questionable
P Jamie Gillan	Left hamstring	DNP	DNP	DNP	Out
WR Malik Nabers	Concussion	Limited	Full	Limited	-
WR Wan'Dale Robinson	Ankle	Limited	Full	Full	-
WR Darius Slayton	Groin	Limited	Limited	Limited	-
RB Devin Singletary	Groin	Limited	Limited	Limited	-
WR Bryce Ford-Wheaton	Shoulder	Limited	Limited	Full	-
LB Ty Summers	Hamstring	Limited	Limited	Limited	-
CB Adoree Jackson	Neck	-	DNP	DNP	Out
S Dane Belton	Ilness	-	-	DNP	Questionable

Wednesday notes:

• The Giants' offensive line looks like this, when healthy:

LT	LG	C	RG	RT
Andrew Thomas	Jon Runyan	John Michael Schmitz	Greg Van Roten	Jermaine Eluemunor

Thomas is by far the Giants' best offensive lineman. His season is reportedly over with a Lisfranc injury.

The Giants have four backup linemen on their 53-man roster — Evan Neal, Joshua Ezeudu, Aaron Stinnie, and Jake Kubas.

Neal played LG at Alabama in 2019, RT in 2020, and LT in 2021, before the Giants made him the No. 6 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. He has been a major bust so far. It was reported a couple weeks ago by Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News that Neal has been exclusively working at RT.

#Giants O Line coach Carmen Bricillo said the team is still only working Evan Neal at right tackle. Not at guard. Bricillo’s only explanation was that it’s Neal’s natural position, in the Giants’ minds. In referencing that it’s still early, he also said it’s only been “2 weeks.”…
— Pat Leonard (@PLeonardNYDN) October 4, 2024

Maybe the Giants will insert Neal directly in at LT, but that feels unlikely. One of their other options would be to play Neal at RT, and move Eluemunor over to LT. Eluemunor has played 421 snaps at LT over his career, including 125 snaps there with the Raiders last season. Eluemunor has played well so far at RT, so I'm sure the Giants don't want to disrupt his momentum there, but they might not have a better choice.

If the Giants don't want Neal on the field, they could also plug in Joshua Ezeudu at LT. Ezeudu filled in for an injured Thomas last season (6 games, 5 starts), and he was awful, giving up 5 sacks on just 181 pass block snaps, per PFF. He also committed 6 penalties.

• The Lawrence and Burns injuries are interesting, and obviously worth monitoring. Lawrence's injury is new. Burns was limited all last week with his groin injury, but he at least practiced. A DNP on Wednesday is noteworthy.

• The Giants' top three receivers — Nabers, Slayton, and Robinson — were all limited. The most important of the three is Nabers. Brian Daboll said that he is optimistic about Nabers' chances of playing on Sunday.

Thursday notes:

• Lawrence and Burns remained out of practice, though several Giants reporters noted that both players said they would be good to go for Sunday.

• Adoree Jackson was an addition to the injury report. He is a reserve corner these days. He has played 29 percent of the Giants' defensive snaps this season.

• Nabers and Robinson were full participants, so any slim chance that they weren't going to play is probably out the window.

Friday notes:

• Lawrence and Burns are both listed as questionable, though it would be a surprise if either player didn't play. Jackson is out.

• The Giants' kicker (Graham Gano) and punter (Gillan) are both out. Their temporary kicker is Greg Joseph, who missed field goals from 47 and 45 last week against the Bengals. The temporary punter is Matt Haack, whose name sounds like someone is hocking a loogie.

Other notable players on IR, PUP, suspension, etc.

• EDGE Kayvon Thibodeaux: Thibodeaux had 11.5 sacks in 2023, and he was playing well to start the 2024 season. He was placed on IR last week with a wrist injury, and will not play against the Eagles.

• K Graham Gano: Gano went on IR after Week 2 with a hamstring injury. He is eligible to come off of IR and rejoin the 53-man roster this week. In his absence, Greg Joseph was 8/11 on his field goal attempts. Joseph missed two field goals from distances of 47 and 45 against the Bengals last Sunday.

• PR Gunner Olszewski: Olszewski returned 23 punts last season for 273 yards (11.9 YPR) and a TD.

MORE: Eagles Week 7 power ranking roundup

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