The Eagles beat the Vikings on Sunday at the Linc, but lost their slot cornerback in the process.
On Monday, head coach Doug Pederson confirmed that Ron Brooks ruptured his right quad tendon early in the game and will be out for the rest of the season. Brooks will have surgery within a few days.
“We’re going to miss him, obviously,” Pederson said.
After Brooks left the game on Sunday, Malcolm Jenkins took over his role as the team’s slot corner, while Jaylen Watkins came off the bench as the safety next to Rodney McLeod on the back end.
That appears to be the way the Eagles will go forward with Brooks out.
“Yeah, I would think it would be very similar to what we’ve seen, with Jalen [Mills] outside and then Malcolm coming down inside playing the nickel spot,” Pederson said.
The Eagles are pretty thin at corner with the Brooks injury. The only remaining corner on the team who hasn’t played is rookie C.J. Smith, the undrafted corner from North Dakota State. He was added to the active roster before the Washington game but hasn’t yet been active.
Then, there’s Aaron Grymes. The former CFL star, who played well during training camp and preseason, suffered a shoulder injury in the third preseason game and hasn’t been with the team since. 97.5 The Fanatic’s Geoff Mosher reported that Grymes was expected to take a physical and sign on Monday.
Still, for now, the Eagles will go ahead with Nolan Carroll and McKelvin as their starting corners, with Jenkins filling in at the slot. Jenkins, earlier this season, expressed his desire to play in the slot.
The big key to that is Watkins, who comes off the bench and goes to safety in the nickel.
“I thought Jaylen came in and played well,” Pederson said. “He was in on a few plays, he was around the quarterback a few times on blitzes and he’s a guy that obviously now has to increase his workload. But I think he stepped up and did a nice job, watching the tape this morning.”
While Brooks’ injury was the most serious on Sunday, it wasn’t the only one.
Linebacker and special teamer Kamu Grugier-Hill suffered a right hamstring strain and is “week to week,” according to Pederson.
Jason Peters left the game early, but just has a right bicep strain with no structural damage and should be fine to play next week. Jordan Matthews (left knee tendinitis) should also be fine. Same with Mychal Kendricks (rib contusion) and McKelvin (hamstring).
In fact, Pederson said McKelvin came out of the game “exceptionally well,” despite some soreness.
Pederson also said Bennie Logan, who was inactive Sunday with a groin strain, is getting better. But he didn’t say whether or not Logan is expected to practice on Wednesday. Beau Allen started in Logan’s place against the Vikings and played well.