Eagles Notes: Injury Updates, NFL Not Yet In Touch
Doug Pederson. (Jeff Fusco)
After exiting the Eagles’ 24-15 win over the Falcons in the second quarter with a head injury, Nolan Carroll is now going through concussion protocol, Doug Pederson announced Monday afternoon. However, Pederson added that the Eagles aren’t planning on making any personnel changes despite Carroll possibly being out this week and Leodis McKelvin’s lingering hamstring injury.
With Ron Brooks out for the season with a quad injury, the Eagles’ only other cornerbacks are rookies. Jalen Mills has played significant snaps, but C.J. Smith and Aaron Grymes have combined for only one NFL snap.
“Jalen has done a great job in that position. C.J., right now, has possibly the most experience [compared to Grymes] — or at least the most reps — playing at that corner position,” Pederson said. “Aaron is still kind of working into the system just a little bit. He’s only been active a week, so we got to keep bringing him along with some more reps. It’s a tribute, though, to our defensive line with those situations, when you talk about the corner position.
“Because when we do put the pressure on quarterbacks like we’ve done, especially yesterday, it allows us our guys to kind of free up a little bit, and if you got to double a guy, you can double a guy and use that to your advantage.”
Terrence Brooks’ (hamstring) status is also uncertain for the Eagles’ game against the Seahawks, but Allen Barbre (hamstring), Brent Celek (rib), Kamu Grugier-Hill (hamstring), Jason Kelce (quad contusion), Bennie Logan (groin), Leodis McKelvin (hamstring) and Destiny Vaeao (left calf) will all practice this week.
Getting Barbre back would be a notable boost for the Eagles’ offensive line, as he’s missed almost all of the last three games. However, Stefen Wisniewski has filled in nicely at left guard.
“It’s great to have a guy like Wiz — veteran, experienced, played a lot of games prior to joining our football team. It’s great to have that kind of backup guard-center combination out of him,” Pederson said. “He’s played well. He’s been a solid addition in there, been real consistent. A little limited as an athlete, but very smart. [He] makes up for it with his brain and being in the right position. ”
Pederson also noted the NFL hasn’t been in touch yet with the Eagles about a potential missed penalty call during the Eagles-Falcons game. About four minutes into the fourth quarter, Falcons safety Keanu Neal hit Jordan Matthews helmet-to-helmet, but no penalty was called.
Matthews expressed frustration after the game that no flag was thrown, while Pederson was livid on the sideline. The Eagles’ head coach, however, was calmer in his assessment of the potential missed call nearly 24 hours after the game.
“The officials are working extremely hard every week. They pride themselves in doing the right thing, and they don’t want to be the reason for wins and losses, you know?” Pederson said. “The best games are when you don’t even know they are there. So give them credit. It happens extremely fast a lot of times, and we could say the same thing about maybe defensive holding [for example]. The umpire is now on the offensive side of the ball, so there are things there, but by no means can we let it affect us, obviously. I need to probably be a little cooler in those situations, but you’re also looking out for and protecting your player, too. ”