Philadelphia Eagles’ top safety surprisingly pops up on injury report ahead of Sunday’s game against Saints

By Matt Higgins

·Updated: September 20, 2024

The Philadelphia Eagles don’t need this injury popping up with how the defense has struggled mightily the first two weeks of the season.

Thursday's Injury Report#PHIvsNO pic.twitter.com/ndNxbzBCzv
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) September 19, 2024

The Birds revealed that starting safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson did not practice Thursday due to a foot injury. He wasn’t listed on the injury report Wednesday.

It will be a big blow if Gardner-Johnson misses Sunday’s game against the New Orleans Saints since the Eagles are thin at safety.

According to Dave Zangaro of NBC Sports Philadelphia, if Gardner-Johnson is unable to play, the Eagles have some options. They could play Tristin McCollum, who has been mainly used on special teams to begin the season, or move Avonte Maddox back to safety and play rookie Cooper Dejean as nickel cornerback.

Despite Gardner-Johnson popping up on the injury report, The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane reports that the injury isn’t a major concern.

Gardner-Johnson’s injury isn’t a major concern, from what I understand. https://t.co/hxCWrtaZiM
— Jeff McLane (@Jeff_McLane) September 19, 2024

Wide receivers A.J. Brown and Johnny Wilson also did not practice Thursday due to hamstring injuries. Brown told ESPN’s Lisa Salters on Monday he expects to miss a couple of games.

The Eagles brought back Gardner-Johnson to strengthen their depleted secondary, signing him to a three-year, $33 million contract. Gardner-Johnson was part of the 2022 Eagles team that went to the Super Bowl. He played with the Detroit Lions last season.

The Saints are off to a hot start. Quarterback Derek Carr has thrown for 443 yards and five touchdowns, and star running back Alvin Kamara has rushed for nearly 200 yards and scored five touchdowns in the team’s 2-0 start.

The Birds are 2.5-point underdogs to the Saints.