Eagles Secondary Suffers Two Concerning Injury Blows on Thursday Night
![PHILADELPHIA, PA - SEPTEMBER 14: Justin Evans #30 of the Philadelphia Eagles looks on from the field during at Lincoln Financial Field on September 14, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images) PHILADELPHIA, PA - SEPTEMBER 14: Justin Evans #30 of the Philadelphia Eagles looks on from the field during at Lincoln Financial Field on September 14, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/1a417975c8539cb617af763a77bc682049c721d0d52757bbbced1629e2e4d24a.jpg)
The impact of missing Avonte Maddox was felt on the first drive of the game, when Josh Jobe gave up a third-down conversion on his first snap, and now the Eagles’ secondary could be getting even thinner.
Eagles News: Justin Evans Injured
Safety Justin Evans is walking to the locker room following his lengthy stay in the medical tent
— Josh Tolentino (@JCTSports) September 25, 2023
Justin Evans went into the medical tent early in the first quarter, and after spending a concerning amount of time in the tent he emerged only to go to the locker room. There’s no word yet on Evans’ injury, and while it was encouraging to see him walk off under his own power, it’s obviously a bad sign that he’s headed to the locker room after his assessment in the tent.
Both of his potential backups — Terrell Edmunds and Sydney Brown — were on the field after Evans went down. Edmunds was the one filling in at the safety spot though, as Brown moved into the slot with the Eagles clearly unhappy about how the first drive (when James Bradberry moved inside and Jobe took the outside spot) went.
Evans has had a strong start to the season so far, while Terrell Edmunds did not look good filling in when Reed Blankenship got hurt.
The Eagles pass-rush hasn’t been nearly as effective as we’d like to see so far (outside of Jalen Carter of course), and that has made things harder on the secondary. It works the other way too, with the depleted secondary not making things as easy on the pass-rush.
If Evans is forced to miss any significant time this could be a major blow. We’ll keep this story updated as more comes in.
Update: The Eagles have officially announced Evans as questionable to return with a neck injury.
Injury Update: S Justin Evans (neck) is questionable to return.
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) September 25, 2023
Update 2: With the game out of reach in the second half, Evans has been officially ruled out.
Injury Update: S Justin Evans has been ruled out. https://t.co/Ld3jigxbr9
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) September 26, 2023
Update: Sydney Brown Injury News
Things got even worse later in the first half. With Evans still not having returned to the field, Sydney Brown suffered an injury of his own. Brown is questionable to return with a thigh injury.
Sydney Brown (thigh) is questionable to return, per the Eagles.
— Olivia Reiner (@ReinerOlivia) September 26, 2023