Good New, Bad News

Nothing can be easy for this Eagles team. That is true on the field and when it comes to injuries.

Let’s start with the good news.

Eagles are releasing RB Jay Ajayi today, per source. They are getting RB Jordan Howard back this week.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 23, 2019

Ajayi hadn’t touched the ball the last two weeks and was strictly an emergency option. Getting Howard back will be a major upgrade.

That said, the Eagles are on a roll right now with Miles Sanders and Boston Scott as the 1-2 punch. You don’t want to force Howard in there and disrupt the chemistry and rhythm of the offense. I think the coaches will bring Howard back slowly, mixing him in here and there. He would be good for short yardage situations.

Howard’s return is mainly a boost to the RB depth. Should anything have happened to Sanders or Scott, you didn’t want Ajayi getting important touches. That changes with the return of Howard. He doesn’t have the speed of the other two, but he is a tough, physical runner and his teammates feed off his runs.

Now for the bad news.

Zach Ertz fractured a rib Sunday against the Cowboys, NFL source confirmed @RapSheet report. Tests still being done to evaluate the extent of the injury as Doug Pederson said earlier. The Pro Bowl TE is in significant pain, needless to say.

— Jeff McLane (@Jeff_McLane) December 23, 2019

This could be simply a matter of pain management or Ertz could be out for a couple of weeks. Keep your fingers crossed on this one. The Eagles might be able to win a game without Ertz, but they would need him back for the playoffs.

The release of Ajayi brings up an interesting situation. The Eagles now have an open roster spot. With Ertz banged up, the team might want to promote TE Alex Ellis from the practice squad. That would give them better depth at TE.

Or the Eagles could add a WR. They only have three right now and J.J. Arcega-Whiteside is banged up. Josh Perkins can play some WR, but I’m not sure you want to count on him. The Eagles really ought to consider putting Nelson Agholor on IR if his knee is still swollen. At some point, they have to decide if he’s got a real shot to play again this year. That roster spot has value.

Two other injury nuggets. Ronald Darby will be out a week or two. That means Rasul Douglas takes over for him and Sidney Jones should see more playing time in some packages. I’m honestly not sure if this is bad news or not. Darby has been incredibly frustrating this year with his inability to play the ball in the air. He gave up a 41-yard play on Sunday, but should have broken that up. Douglas isn’t as fast, but has better size and ball skills.

DeSean Jackson is expecting to re-join the team on the field should the Eagles advance to the divisional round of the playoffs, a source said. He is feeling good and clocking 19 mph in rehab. Not eligible to return from IR until Round 2 of postseason.

— Tim McManus (@Tim_McManus) December 23, 2019

https://twitter.com/JClarkNBCS/status/1209179788306456576

It would be great to have DeSean return to the field. His speed would add explosion to an offense that is now consistently moving the football. The Eagles offense could become really fun to watch.

Of course, this won’t happen unless the Eagles win on Sunday and then in the first round of the playoffs. The team has a lot to accomplish before this can happen. It sure would be cool, though.

*****

This is fun stuff.

https://twitter.com/GetUpESPN/status/1209121236011409409

Lots of bad criticisms for Orlovsky to rip apart.

And here is something more from Dan.

I dunno man this stuff just matters @JoshMcCown12 @Eagles pic.twitter.com/vBTCicJzmf

— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) December 24, 2019

It is easy to love Josh McCown.

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