The Philadelphia Eagles listed 10 players on their initial injury report ahead of their NFC Championship Game matchup against the Washington Commanders. The Commanders listed 14 players on their initial injury report (not including rest-only players).
Here are the Eagles' and Commanders' inactives, with analysis…
Tanner McKee is the emergency quarterback. The Eagles elevated FB Khari Blasingame and LB Nicholas Morrow for the game.
• OL Nick Gates: Cam Jurgens is active. To be determined if he starts or is just an emergency player.
• OG Trevor Keegan: The rookie fifth-round pick had a solid training camp, but for now he is a guard only, and thus not super helpful for versatility's sake on gameday. The backup offensive linemen will be Fred Johnson, Tyler Steen, and Brett Toth.
• OL Darian Kinnard: Kinnard has only been active for two games.
• WR Ainias Smith: Parris Campbell was added to the 53-man roster during the playoffs, so Smith is down.
• CB Eli Ricks: The Eagles are deep at corner.
• S Lewis Cine: The Eagles poached Cine off of the Bills' practice squad a couple weeks ago.
Other notable players on IR, PUP, suspension, etc.
• LB Nakobe Dean (IR): Dean tore a patellar tendon, which is an extremely serious injury, as our Evan Macy laid out. His season is over, and he will very likely miss time in 2025 as well. Dean had a breakout season in 2024, making 128 tackles, three sacks, a forced fumble, two recoveries, and a game-sealing INT Week 9 against the Jacksonville Jaguars. He was replaced in the lineup by Oren Burks against the Rams.
• EDGE Brandon Graham (IR): Graham tore his left triceps in the Eagles' win over the Rams. Before the season, Graham said that the 2024 season, his 15th in the NFL, would be his last. He played very well, and was arguably the team's best edge defender. Graham finished with 20 tackles and 3.5 sacks, with his stats not truly showing his actual impact, as has been the case throughout his career. Graham has hinted that there is a chance he could return if the Eagles advance far enough in the playoffs.
• WR/RS Britain Covey (IR): Covey was previously on IR with a shoulder injury. He returned from that injury and played in games, but landed on IR once again with a neck injury. Cooper DeJean has return punts in his absence. Covey had his 21-day practice window opened up on Wednesday.
• FB Ben VanSumeren (IR): VanSumeren was a core special teams player and linebacker who became a fullback for the Eagles this season, and looked pretty good in that role. He suffered a lower-body injury during practice and landed on IR.
The Commanders' inactives:
#WASvsPHI inactives
— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) January 26, 2025
The most notable players above are RG Sam Cosmi and DT Daron Payne.
Cosmi tore an ACL against the Lions last Sunday. His season is over. The Commanders could either insert backup Trent Scott in directly at RG, or move Andrew Wylie from RT to RG and play Cornelius Lucas at RT.
Payne was ruled out by the Commanders on Saturday. He had 42 tackles and 4 sacks this season, and he hasn't missed a start since 2019. It has to absolutely suck to play for an awful franchise your whole career, only to to miss the NFC Championship Game when the team finally got good. Rookie Johnny Newton will likely start in his place, and the Commanders' interior line will be tested against the best running back in the NFL. It's worth noting that DT Jonathan Allen missed both Eagles-Commanders matchups during the regular season, so the Commanders are used to being down a starting DT against the Eagles.
Other notable players on IR, PUP, suspension, etc.
• WR Noah Brown: The Commanders signed Brown off the street after the Texans cut him this offseason. He played in 11 games, starting 9. He had 35 catches on 56 targets for 453 yards (12.9 YPC) and 1 TD (the Hail Mary against the Bears). Brown suffered a kidney injury, and his season is over.
• K Austin Seibert: Seibert is 27 of 30 on field goal attempts, 22 of 24 on PATs. He missed a couple of games with a hip injury, came back and missed three kicks in a loss to the Cowboys before landing on IR. The Commanders' current kicker is Zane Gonzalez, who is 9 for 12 on field goal attempts this season, and 27 for 27 on PATs.
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