Eagles on track to get key member of secondary back vs. Commanders

Eagles safety Reed Blankenship appears to be on track to return against the Commanders in Week 8.

By Dave Zangaro • Published October 25, 2023

 

It appears that the Eagles are on track to get starting safety Reed Blankenship (ribs) back for their Week 8 game against the Commanders on Sunday. 

Blankenship, 24, was listed as a full participant on the Eagles’ injury report on Wednesday after he missed the Dolphins game after getting hurt against the Jets the week before.

Against the Jets, Blankenship was injured after a blindside block from Jets receiver Allen Lazard, who was subsequently fined $16,391 by the league for the illegal block.

The Eagles this week traded for veteran safety Kevin Byard, who will join Blankenship in the starting lineup at safety for the second half of the season. Both Byard and Blankenship played college football at Middle Tennessee State and have worked out together in the offseason.

"I think he’s a really great young player,” Byard said about Blankenship on Wednesday. "Obviously, last year he just kind of came in, there were some injuries and things like that. 

"I know he came in and made a big play against Green Bay. I think he caught an interception against Aaron Rodgers. I don’t even think I picked off Aaron Rodgers yet so that’s pretty cool. I think he’s a really instinctual player, physical player, really smart. I’m going to lean on him a little bit too, trying to learn the playbook and everything. Kind of get my feet wet.”

The Eagles held a walkthrough on Wednesday, so their injury report is an estimation:

Did not participate: Bradley Roby (shoulder)

Limited: Milton Williams (heel)

Full: Reed Blankenship (ribs)

It’s worth noting that starting quarterback Jalen Hurts was not listed on the Eagles’ initial injury report of the week despite playing through a knee injury against the Dolphins. Head coach Nick Sirianni on Wednesday said he expects Hurts to play in Week 8.

As for the other injuries on the team, Roby missed the Dolphins game with a shoulder injury he suffered against the Jets. The fact that the Eagles didn’t put Roby on Injured Reserve seems to indicate that the team doesn’t expect him to miss considerable time. Had the Eagles put him on IR, he would miss at least four games.

And Williams was seen limping through the postgame locker room after the win on Sunday night. But Williams has played through plenty of injuries before and has played all 41 possible regular season games since he entered the NFL as a third-round pick in 2021.

https://www.nbcsportsphiladelphia.com/nfl/philadelphia-eagles/eagles-on-track-to-get-key-member-of-secondary-back-vs-commanders/542619/

Reed and Byard that’ll be a nice Safety tandem!