Philadelphia Eagles running back Ryan Mathews is done for the rest of the season after he suffered a “major” neck injury on Thursday night.
Jeff McLane of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports head coach Doug Pederson as saying Mathews needs surgery to repair damage to his neck. The injury happened on a third down goal-line play, and Mathews ended up running the ball on the next play as well on fourth down, with the injury.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media provided the specifics of the injury.
#Eagles coach Doug Pederson tells reporters RB Ryan Mathews has a herniated disc (C6, C7). Calls it a “major deal.”
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 23, 2016
Mathews has long struggled to stay healthy, and this latest injury might give him cause to potentially think long and hard about his future.
That said, he was leading Philadelphia in rushing this year before his season-ending injury Thursday night, going for 661 yards and eight touchdowns on the ground while adding 115 yards and a touchdown through the air.
The Eagles will have to roll with Darren Sproles and Wendell Smallwood to close out the year in Week 17.