This weekend, the Minnesota Vikings will come off their bye week and have a date with the Philadelphia Eagles.
At 4-2, the defending champs will be no slouch to go against this Sunday, but they are coming off back-to-back losses, including a Thursday night 34-17 loss to the New York Giants last week.
Now, as the Vikings prepare to take on this foe, the Eagles may be missing one giant piece of their defense heading into Sunday.
Eagles Defender Could Miss Game vs. Minnesota Vikings
Philadelphia’s final injury report revealed that Jalen Carter, the ninth overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft, is questionable for Sunday’s game because of a heel injury.
It’s an injury that held Carter out of last week’s loss to the Giants, and as a result, New York was able to total 172 rushing yards, the most Philadelphia has allowed all season. Cam Skattebo also rushed for three touchdowns against their defense.
The Vikings’ running game has been inconsistent all year long, but if Carter is less than 100%, it should make it a touch easier for Minnesota to get things going on the ground.
Carter was a full participant in Wednesday’s practice for the Eagles, but on Thursday and Friday, he was downgraded to a limited participant as he continues to work back from this heel injury.
If Carter were to miss Sunday’s game, it would be likely that the Eagles decide to elevate a defensive lineman from their practice squad. Last week, Gabe Hall was the player who got the call, and he played eight snaps on defense.
Otherwise, it was a largely clean injury report for Philadelphia given the circumstances. After Zach Baun and Quinyon Mitchell had some doubt around their statuses heading into the week, neither one of them received a game status on Friday, so the assumption should be that they will be ready to roll.
Outside of Carter’s questionable status, the biggest storyline is that Landon Dickerson was also listed as questionable.
Dickerson has been one of the best guards in the NFL over the past few years since being drafted by the Eagles back in 2021 out of Alabama. As the Vikings hope to get their defense a bit healthier this weekend, Dickerson’s potential absence would give Minnesota a lane to put some pressure on Jalen Hurts.
Editor’s Note: Statistics for this article were found via Pro Football Reference.
