Eagles’ DeSean Jackson Could Return In Playoffs
DeSean Jackson is expecting to re-join the Eagles if they advance to the divisional round of the playoffs, a source tells ESPN.com’s Tim McManus (on Twitter). The wide receiver already says he’s feeling good and he’s been flashing his trademark speed in rehab workouts. 
Because the Eagles placed DJax on IR, he wouldn’t be eligible to return from injured reserve until the second round of the postseason. The Birds could certainly use him – Alshon Jeffery is done for the year and Nelson Agholor remains questionable for Week 17 after missing the past three weeks with a knee injury.
Jackson underwent core muscle surgery in November, capping his 2019 season after just three games played. He has just nine catches for 159 yards and two touchdowns on the year.
The Eagles sent the Buccaneers a sixth-round pick for Jackson, a 2008 second-rounder who rose to prominence in Philadelphia. After dominating in his first game back with Philly, Jackson could not shake his abdominal tear. Ultimately, doctors realized that rest wouldn’t cut it, so he had to go under the knife.
Realistically, Jackson is tied to the Eagles through at least 2020 thanks to his new three-year, $27MM deal with the team. He’s on their books through 2021, but the dead-money hit reduces to $5MM-plus after the ’20 season.
The Eagles can punch their ticket to the playoffs with a Week 17 win over the rival Giants. If they lose, they can still reach the playoffs if the Cowboys falter against the Redskins.
DeSean Jackson An IR-Return Candidate?
- Should the Eagles pull off the upset Sunday and then defeat the Giants in their regular-season finale, they would make the playoffs. If that happens, DeSean Jackson offered a glimmer of hope he could return from IR. Weeks after undergoing groin surgery, the 33-year-old wide receiver shared a workout video of him featuring sprints and agility drills (Instagram link). If Jackson does not experience any setbacks, Adam Caplan of Sirius XM Radio tweets he is on target to play once eligible. However, Jackson not being eligible until the divisional round may make this a moot point for the 7-7 Eagles. Philadelphia has Jackson and Alshon Jeffery on IR, and Nelson Agholor may be on the wrong end of questionable after not practicing all week.
- Said upset will be a bit more difficult without Lane Johnson, who will miss a second straight game because of the high ankle sprain he suffered in Week 14. The Eagles declared their All-Pro right tackle out against the Cowboys. Johnson has missed two games this season, the first due to a concussion. Halapoulivaati Vaitai will draw the start.
Eagles Place Kamu Grugier-Hill On IR
The Eagles are placing Kamu Grugier-Hill on the injured reserve list, per a team announcement. The linebacker will undergo spinal surgery to fix a painful lower lumbar disc herniation that has plagued him throughout the year. 
Grugier-Hill played through the pain for ten games (six starts) this year, but doctors ultimately determined that he would need surgery. His 2019 season ends with 22 stops and one fumble recovery.
Grugier-Hill cracked the Eagles’ starting lineup in 2018 and racked up 45 tackles, a sack, an interception, and two passes defended. This year, he was having an exceptional training camp this year before a Grade 3 MCL sprain stopped him in August. Now, a much more serious issue will sideline him until 2020.
The timing is brutal on a number of levels. The Eagles are gearing up for a pivotal game against the Cowboys on Sunday that will make or break their playoff chances. Meanwhile, Grugier-Hill is slated for unrestricted free agency for the first time in his career.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/16/19
Here are today’s practice squad updates:
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: K Kaare Vedvik
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: TE Alex Ellis
- Released: TE Scott Orndoff
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: WR Spencer Schnell
- Released: WR Trevion Thompson
Lane Johnson To Miss Week 15
- Giants fans eager for perhaps one final Eli Manning start at MetLife Stadium will be pleased Sunday. Daniel Jones will be given another week off due to his high ankle sprain, keeping Manning in the starting lineup for a Week 15 home tilt against the Dolphins. The 38-year-old quarterback threw two touchdown passes and did not turn the ball over on a rainy night against the Eagles, following an 11-game stretch featuring at least one Jones turnover. The Giants currently stand in the No. 2 overall draft slot, so Sunday’s game against the 3-10 Dolphins — with the 3-10 Redskins and 3-9-1 Lions and Cardinals looming — will be important for draft positioning.
- The Eagles will be without Lane Johnson against the Redskins. The Pro Bowl right tackle left Monday night’s game in the first half due to an ankle injury. Johnson missed the Eagles’ Week 12 game because of a concussion.
Eagles Place Alshon Jeffery On IR
Alshon Jeffery‘s season is over. On Thursday, the Eagles announced that the wide receiver has been placed on injured reserve. 
Jeffery was forced out of Monday night’s game with a foot injury and after the swelling went down, team doctors learned that he’ll need more than just a week or two of rest, ice, compression, and elevation. It’s a bad break for the Eagles, who are fighting for the NFC East title and a chance to add another Super Bowl ring to their collection.
Jeffery’s season ends with 43 catches for 430 yards and four touchdowns for the 2019 season. It’s a step down from his 65 catches for 843 yards and six touchdowns in 2018 and the 11.4 yards per catch average marks a career low. The Eagles will hope to have him back at full strength in 2020, when he’ll continue to play on his four-year, $72MM deal, which includes a substantial guarantee of $54.595MM.
To take Jeffery’s place on the roster, the Eagles promoted fellow wide receiver Robert Davis from the practice squad. And, to fill Davis’ spot on the taxi squad, the Eagles signed receiver Deontay Burnett.
The Eagles might need Davis for more than just emergency situations. DeSean Jackson is on IR and receiver Nelson Agholor was held out of Monday night’s game with a knee injury. Meanwhile, receiver J.J. Arcega-Whiteside is battling through an injury he suffered against the Giants, though he’s expected to play against the Redskins.
NFC East Notes: Shurmur, Vander Esch, Eagles
Giants head coach Pat Shurmur is clearly on the hot seat, and everything we have heard this year suggests that he could be fired at season’s end. And as Paul Schwartz of the New York Post writes, the sentiment for bringing Shurmur back for the 2020 season is dimming within the organization because there is simply no concrete reason to suggest that he should be retained. Previous reports indicated that Shurmur could keep his job simply for the sake of giving young QB Daniel Jones some continuity, but Schwartz says the cons of keeping Shurmur outweigh that potential pro.
Schwartz does not offer an update on Big Blue’s plans for GM Dave Gettleman, and the fact that the Giants have historically practiced patience with their GMs and knew that they were tasking Gettleman with a rebuilding job could mean that he is safe for 2020. But will the team trust him to hire another HC since the Shurmur hire has flopped, or will ownership just clean house and start afresh? All options are definitely on the table.
Let’s take a swing around the NFC East:
- Cowboys linebacker Leighton Vander Esch has not played since November 17 due to a neck injury, and while there has been some improvement, the 23-year-old is still not ready to practice, as Todd Archer of ESPN.com writes. The club is not ready to put Vander Esch on IR just yet, but it sounds like that could be a possibility.
- The Eagles may have lost WR Alshon Jeffery for the season, and as Bo Wulf and Zach Berman of The Athletic write, Nelson Agholor‘s status remains up in the air. Agholor sat out the team’s Monday night win with a knee injury, so Philly may need to make more than one WR roster move. Old friend Jordan Matthews just signed with the 49ers, so Berman believes it’s more likely that the team will promote one or two of their taxi squad wideouts than sign a free agent. Wulf, though, names a few players on other practice squads that the Eagles could poach.
- Speaking of Jeffery, Eliot Shorr-Parks of 94WIP.com says the Eagles have no choice but to release the veteran wideout if they cannot find a trade partner for him (which seems highly unlikely). Because the team guaranteed Jeffery’s 2020 salary earlier this year in order to create more cap room, cutting Jeffery will result in an enormous dead cap number of over $26MM in 2020. That seems like an impossible pill to swallow, even if the club were to designate him as a post-June 1 cut to spread out the dead cap money over two years, but Shorr-Parks believes the team will indeed cut Jeffery if he cannot be traded.
Eagles’ Alshon Jeffery Done For Year?
The Eagles topped the Giants in overtime on Monday night, but the win may prove to be costly. Offensive lineman Lane Johnson is “week to week” with a sore ankle and wide receiver Alshon Jeffery suffered a foot injury that is more significant than Johnson’s, head coach Doug Pederson told reporters. 
With only three games left in the regular season, it sounds like Jeffery might be done for the season. That would be a bad blow for the Eagles as they fight for the NFC East crown and an opportunity to capture another Super Bowl ring.
Jeffery hauled in 65 catches for 843 yards and six touchdowns in 2018. Before Monday’s game, and his early exit to the medical tent, he had 43 catches for 430 yards and four touchdowns for the 2019 season.
Johnson, 29, was on the field for every offensive snap in ten of his twelve games this year. The Eagles will hope to have him back this Sunday against the Redskins as he plays out his recently-inked four-year, $72MM extension, which includes a staggering guarantee of $54.595MM.
2020 NFL Draft Order As Of Week 15
With 14 full weeks of the NFL season in the books, the 2020 draft order is beginning to take shape. Here’s the rundown of where things would stand if the 2019 season ended today:
1. Bengals: 1-12
2. Giants: 2-11
3. Redskins: 3-10
4. Dolphins: 3-10
5. Lions: 3-9-1
6. Cardinals: 3-9-1
7. Jaguars: 4-9
8. Falcons: 4-9
9. Jets: 5-8
10. Chargers: 5-8
11. Broncos 5-8
12. Panthers 5-8
13. Eagles 6-7
14. Raiders 6-7
15. Colts 6-7
16. Buccaneers 6-7
17. Browns 6-7
18. Raiders (via Bears) 6-7
19. Titans 8-5
20. Jaguars (via Rams) 8-5
21. Cowboys 6-7
22. Dolphins (via Steelers) 8-5
23. Dolphins (via Texans) 8-5
24. Vikings 9-4
25. Bills 9-4
26. Chiefs 9-4
27. Packers 10-3
28. Seahawks 10-3
29. Patriots 10-3
30. Saints 10-3
31. Ravens 11-2
32. 49ers 11-2
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/5/19
We’ll keep track of today’s practice squad moves here:
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: WR Damion Willis
Detroit Lions
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: WR Gehrig Dieter
Houston Texans
- Signed: S Shalom Luani
New York Giants
- Signed: DB Rashaan Gaulden, C Tanner Volson
Oakland Raiders
- Released: C Kyle Kalis, LB Quentin Poling
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: WR Marken Michel
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: LB Jermaine Grace
- Released: DB Brian Allen
Washington Redskins
- Signed: WR Jordan Veasy