Eagles Welcome Return of DeSean Jackson and Avonte Maddox to Lineup
PHILADELPHIA – On a day that the Eagles placed tight end Zach Ertz on Injured Reserve, the team saw the return to the lineup of veteran receiver DeSean Jackson and cornerback Avonte Maddox, both of whom missed the previous three games due to injury, for Thursday night's game against the New York Giants at Lincoln Financial Field.
the Eagles have won seven in a row against New York and 11 of the last 12 in the series.
Jackson hasn’t played since injuring a hamstring on Sept. 27 in the first half against the Cincinnati Bengals. He has 10 catches for 121 yards but no touchdowns in his two-and-half games played this season.
In Jackson’s absence, Travis Fulgham has emerged as Carson Wentz’s No. 1 receiver. Fulgham has one touchdown catch in the last three games and has 18 receptions for 284 yards receiving for an average of 15.8 yards per catch.
Maddox was also injured against the Bengals, suffering an ankle injury. He has made 23 tackles in his two-and-half games this year.
The Eagles will also welcome the return of Lane Johnson at right tackle. Johnson missed Sunday’s game against the Ravens in an effort to calm the swelling in an ailing ankle that was operated on in August.
With Jack Driscoll out injured, Johnson’s backup appears to be Brett Toth, who joined the team two weeks ago and played the final 17 snaps against the Ravens after Driscoll exited with an ankle injury.
There is another moving part on the offensive line with Nate Herbig moving from left guard to right guard in order to accommodate the debut of Sua Opeta at left guard. Opeta will become the sixth offensive lineman making his first NFL start for the Eagles.
Jamon Brown made his Eagles debut at right guard on Sunday and played poorly. He was released on Wednesday but signed to the practice squad on Thursday. He was elevated from the practice squad for Thursday night’s game.
Also, Matt Pryor will serve as a backup guard, or even tackle should the need arise. He was activated off the Reserve/COVID-19 list on Thursday.
Defensive tackle T.Y. McGill was also promoted from the practice squad. The Eagles are a bit short-handed on the defensive line with Malik Jackson missing the game with a quad injury.
The team’s inactives for the games, in addition to Driscoll and Jackson, are receivers Quez Watkins and Alshon Jeffery, running back Miles Sanders, safety K’Von Wallace, and quarterback Nate Sudfeld.
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