Injury Report: Defensive Starters Out For Eagles Vs Ravens Game
The Philadelphia Eagles are preparing for one of their final road trips of the 2024 NFL season when they travel to Baltimore to face off with one of the best offenses in the NFL.
Thanks to the Eagles win over the Rams in Los Angeles on Sunday Night Football, Philadelphia is tied for the second-best Conference Record in the NFC (6-2) and they are two games up in the win column in the NFC East over the Washington Commanders.
But the Eagles sustained a couple of injuries on defense that will impact the team moving forward. Brandon Graham is out for the rest of the regular season after he announced he tore his Left Triceps. Also, Eagles Starting Cornerback Darius Slay left the game vs the Rams after sustaining a Concussion.
Graham played 45.8 percent of the Eagles' Defensive Snaps this season and it will not be easy for the Eagles to fill the void of a veteran Edge Rusher like Brandon Graham.
Eagles Defensive Coordinator acknowledged at his Press Conference on Wednesday that the team will have to be creative and use a "Committee" approach to who takes the defensive snaps that would have been asigned to Brandon Graham.
The good news the Eagles got this week was the return of DeVonta Smith to practice this week. After not participating in any practices leading up to last weekend's game versus the Rams, Smith was a Limited Participant the last couple of days.
Philadelphia will need all the help they can get as they will face off with the number two scoring offense in the NFL: the Baltimore Ravens are averaging 30.3 Points Per Game and they are the only team averaging over 400 Total Yards per game this season.
Eagles versus Ravens Injury Report Rules Out Starter For Sunday's Game
Eagles Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio will have to compensate for the loss of two veteran players when facing the high-powered Ravens offense this Sunday. The Eagles already without Brandon Graham will have to fill a void in the secondary too.
Darius Slay is in the NFL Concussion Protocol after the Sunday Night Football game in Los Angeles. Slay did not participate in practice this week and has not made enough progress to return to the field for the game in Baltimore so he is one of two Eagles ruled Out for Sunday.
Slay, who has played the second most snaps of any Eagles Cornerback this season, will be replaced at Outside Corner by Isaiah Rodgers. According to Pro Football Focus, Rodgers has allowed Opponents to Catch 50 percent of their Targets when he is the defender (8 Catches on 16 Targets).
After missing the Eagles win over the Rams on Sunday Night Football, DeVonta Smith is listed as Questionable for Sunday's game in Baltimore. Last week was only the second game Smith has missed in his four seasons with the Eagles. Smith participated in Thursday and Friday practices this week.
Philadelphia has proceeded with extra caution when players have sustained Hamstring Injuries this season. Both AJ Brown and Dallas Goedert missed 3 games this season while Left Tackle Jordan Mailata did not play for four games. So it would not be a surprise if Smith does not play this Sunday in Baltimore.
The surprising news coming out of Friday's Injury Report is that Linebacker/Fullback/Special Teams Contributor Ben VanSumeren has been ruled out. The 24 year old suffered a Knee injury at Friday's Practice and reports are that the injury is serious enough to keep him out of action for an extended period of time.
After not participating this week, Baltimore has listed Kyle Van Noy as Doubtful for Sunday's Game. The Veteran Pass Rusher is tied for the most Sacks for the Ravens this season with Eight. Van Noy is listed on the Injury Report with Neck and Hamstring Injuries.
The other important name on the Ravens Injury Report is Nose Tackle Michael Pierce is listed as Questionable. Pierce is returning from a Calf Injury that kept him off the field since October 27th. He will need to be activated from the Injured Reserve list by Saturday Afternoon to be available to play on Sunday.
If this is the final year of Brandon Graham's incredible Eagles career, he will finish among the best Sack Artists in Franchise History. Here are the best Pass Rushers in Philadelphia Eagles History:
