Nick Sirianni Gives Updates on Jordan Davis, Chauncey Gardner-Johnson
In typical Nick Sirianni fashion, the Eagles coach isn’t saying much when it comes to the availability of rookie defensive tackle Jordan Davis for Sunday’s game against the Tennessee Titans or whether safety Chauncey Gardner-Johnson will go on Injured Reserve.
The Eagles opened the 21-day practice window for Davis, who suffered a high ankle sprain in the win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Oct. 30, on Wednesday. He is eligible to play this weekend if he is ready.
“We’re in walkthrough so he’ll be out there,” said Sirianni on Wednesday.
The team's walkthrough practice was closed to the media.
With Davis’ return imminent, it will be interesting to see what the rotation will look like with recently-added nose tackle Linval Joseph in the fold.
The coach did admit on Wednesday, 24 hours after it was reported by NFL Media, that Gardner-Johnson has a lacerated kidney.
If the Eagles had to place CGJ on IR, he would miss four games and they would likely prefer to do it prior to the visit from the Titans in order to get that clock started.
Sirianni wasn’t sure what the next move will be.
“I know he was in some pain on the field,” said the coach. “He’s doing well right now. As far as how long he’ll be out, you never really know with that and you know I’m not going to put a timetable on anybody, but we just hope he gets better and we’ll play it safe with that.
“Obviously that’s a dangerous injury. We’ll think about his health just like we do all our players first and he’ll get on the field when he’s ready.”
Sirianni wasn’t sure how to rehab a lacerated kidney but believed it would require “a lot of rest to make sure it heals up.”
As for Johnson, in addition to his rehab, he made it clear what he will be doing in the short term when he took to Twitter.
“So I guess my gaming career can take off for the next couple weeks,” he tweeted. “P.s. I’m also a professional gamer too.”
There had been some scuttlebutt on Twitter that Malcolm Jenkins might be brought in to replace Gardner-Johnson in the short term.
Jenkins himself stoked those fires by admitting on a podcast that he is in shape and ready to if called upon.
If Gardner-Johnson isn’t placed on IR and only misses two or three games, Jenkins’ return isn’t likely, though it wouldn’t be wise to discount the possibility completely after GM Howie Roseman already made some key in-season signings in Joseph and Ndamukong Suh.
Right now, it would seem like a longshot, especially after undrafted free agent safety Reed Blankenship stepped in after Gardner-Johnson got hurt in the first quarter and played as well as could be expected under the circumstances.
“I really like our (safety) room,” said Sirianni. “I think (DB coach) Dennard (Wilson) is a great coach and has those guys ready to go…
“Obviously, Reed had to go out there and do it. Reed was ready to go because of his mental preparation and his ability to get ready through the week. So, we like the room, we like the guys on the practice squad.
"We like the guys we have in the room, and we’re always doing anything we can to help make the team be successful, but I really love that room, and I got a lot of confidence in that room.”
In addition to Blankenship, the Eagles also have Marcus Epps, K’Von Wallace, and Andre Chachere on the roster. Marquise Blair is on the practice squad.
Blair, who has 25 games of NFL experience, is a former second-round pick of the Seahawks in 2020.
Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Fan Nation Eagles Today and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglesmaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.
