The Philadelphia Eagles issued their first official injury report in advance of their Wild Card playoff home game against the San Francisco 49ers.
The Eagles listed two players under DID NOT PARTICIPATE: Grant Calcaterra and Brett Toth.
Calcaterra suffered knee and ankle injuries after being taken down with a hip drop tackle in the Eagles’ Week 18 game against the Washington Commanders. He is now listed with just an ankle injury. Not trying to be harsh but his absence could be a case of addition by subtraction since the Eagles try to run behind him and it typically doesn’t go well since he’s not a great blocker. If Calcaterra can’t play, the Eagles will have at least three active tight ends: Dallas Goedert, Kylen Granson, and Cameron Latu. If they want a fourth tight end, they can opt to temporarily elevate E.J. Jenkins from the practice squad.
Toth suffered a concussion in the Eagles’ Week 18 game. If he’s not able to at least return to practice in a limited capacity by Thursday, I’m thinking he won’t be able to play on Sunday. Toth is typically the top backup at guard and center, so, it remains to be seen how the team would replace him if applicable. They could go with Matt Pryor as the top backup at both guard spots and Drew Kendall at center. Or perhaps Kendall’s inexperience would prompt them to slide Landon Dickerson to center and put Pryor at left guard.
The Eagles listed five players under LIMITED PARTICIPATION: Lane Johnson, Jalen Carter, Nakobe Dean, Dallas Goedert, and Marcus Epps.
Johnson returned to practice for the first time since suffering a Lisfranc injury in Week 11. There were initially some conflicting reports on Johnson’s status for this weekend but then Brian Baldinger tweeted that Johnson WILL be playing. Of course, that tweet has since been deleted. But NFL insider Adam Schefter also sounded pretty sure Johnson will suit up. It sure seems like Johnson will at least try to give it a go … but we’ll see if he’s able to make it through the entire game, assuming he does play.
Carter apparently suffered a hip injury in practice last week. There’s no indication he won’t play against the 49ers.
Dean told reporters that he is “definitely playing” on Sunday. The limited workload is likely about the Eagles helping him ease back in to practice after suffering a hamstring injury.
Goedert missed practice last week with a knee injury. The Eagles are probably ramping him up to get him to Sunday.
Epps suffered a concussion in practice last week. That he’s been upgraded to limited participation indicates he’s progressing towards a return. Barring any setbacks, he should be on track to start at safety against the 49ers.
The Eagles listed two players under FULL PARTICIPATION: Jaelan Phillips and Azeez Ojulari.
Phillips didn’t get a true bye week this season since the Miami Dolphins traded him before they had one. The Eagles gave Phillips time off last week to allow him to get some of that much-needed rest. Now he’s back in full and ready to play.
The Eagles opened Ojulari’s 21-day practice window to return from injured reserve earlier on Wednesday. The thinking here is that they’re keeping him on standby in case they suffer some edge defender injuries during their potential playoff run.
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES INJURY REPORT (WEDNESDAY)
DID NOT PARTICIPATE
TE Grant Calcaterra (ankle)
OL Brett Toth (concussion)
LIMITED PARTICIPATION
DT Jalen Carter (hip)
LB Nakobe Dean (hamstring)
S Marcus Epps (concussion)
TE Dallas Goedert (knee)
OT Lane Johnson (foot)
FULL PARTICIPATION
EDGE Azeez Ojulari (hamstring)
EDGE Jaelan Phillips (ankle)
SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS INJURY REPORT (WEDNESDAY)
The 49ers listed five players under DID NOT PARTICIPATE: top running back Christian McCaffrey, starting left tackle Trent Williams, starting wide receiver Ricky Pearsall, starting linebacker Dee Winters, and rotational defensive lineman Keion White.
McCaffrey was resting; he’ll play on Sunday. But it’s worth noting that he’s already logged 413 touches this season, which is 44 more than the next closest player (Jonathan Taylor).
Williams missed Week 18 due to a hamstring injury and it sounds like he’s in jeopardy of missing Sunday’s game as well. His absence would obviously be a big one of San Francisco’s offense. If Williams can’t suit up, Austen Pleasants will start at left tackle. Pleasants struggled in both pass protection and run blocking against the Seattle Seahawks; he was the 49ers’ lowest graded player on offense from Week 18.
Pearsall also missed Week 18. The second-year receiver is dealing with a reaggravation of his PCL injury. It sounds like he’s in danger of not playing on Sunday. Pearsall leads the 49ers in receiving yards per game this season.
The 49ers are already banged up at off-ball linebacker with Fred Warner on injured reserve. Winters is also banged up after getting hurt in Week 18. Fill-in starter Tatum Bethune was just placed on IR, so, the 49ers are looking really thin at this position. The top remaining snap leaders at linebacker are Curtis Robinson, who has allowed a 112.7 passer rating when targeted … and Luke Gifford, who was limited in practice on Wednesday. After that, it’s Eric Kendricks, who only signed with the 49ers back in late November. The Eagles must take advantage of this unit unlike they did against the Chicago Bears.
White is a rotational defensive end who ranks fifth on the 49ers in sacks this season with 1.5. He’s played about 57% of the 49ers’ defensive snaps this season after being acquired in a trade with the New England Patriots. The 49ers’ pass rush is already bad and could be even worse without White.
The 49ers listed four players under LIMITED PARTICIPATION: starting tight end George Kittle, starting defensive tackle Jordan Elliott, rotational defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos, and backup linebacker Luke Gifford.
Kittle is expected to play, albeit at less than 100%.
Elliott ranks second among 49ers defensive tackles in snaps played this season.
Gross-Matos has played about a third of the 49ers’ defensive snaps in the eight games he’s been active this season.
We already touched on Gifford.
The 49ers could be getting wide receiver Jacob Cowing back from injured reserve.
He suffered a hamstring injury in the preseason but seems to be ready to return now.
DID NOT PARTICIPATE
RB Christian McCaffrey (rest)
WR Ricky Pearsall (knee/ankle)
DE Keion White (groin/hamstring)
OT Trent Williams (hamstring)
LB Dee Winters (ankle)
LIMITED PARTICIPATION
DT Jordan Elliott (knee)
LB Luke Gifford (quadricep)
DE Yetur Gross-Matos (knee)
TE George Kittle (ankle)
FULL PARTICIPATION
S Ji’Ayir Brown (rib)
WR Jacob Cowing (hamstring)
DT Kalia Davis (knee)
