The Philadelphia Eagles announced on Wednesday that rookie wide receiver Jalen Reagor has been placed on injured reserved because of a torn ligament in his thumb.
He suffered the injury during the early portions of the team’s Week 2 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, but still managed to play the rest of the game before he was inactive for their Week 3 tie against the Cincinnati Bengals.
The first-year man taken 21st overall in the 2020 NFL Draft out of TCU recorded five catches for 96 yards and shared punt-return duties in his first professional games.
Brought in for his speed on the outside to compliment veteran DeSean Jackson while giving Carson Wentz another deep threat, Reagor immediately lived up to those expectations with a 55-yard reception in his NFL debut against Washington in Week 1.
Now, he’ll be sidelined for at least three weeks due to the NFL’s injured-reserve rules, meaning the earlier he can return is Week 7 against the New York Giants.
Reagor’s injury does force the Eagles to scramble a bit to try and keep the receiving group afloat.
Head coach Doug Pederson said Monday that the team would “ramp up” Alshon Jeffery’s workload in practice after returning to the team for the first time since December because of a foot injury. However, it still remains to be seen if he will be available to play.
Rookie Quez Watkins out of Southern Miss was activated on the 21-day practice window after he was reinstated from injured reserve following an upper-body injury suffered during training camp.
If neither are able to play, however, Wentz and the Eagles are left with a hodgepodge of wide receivers once again, featuring Jackson, Greg Ward, and JJ Arcega-Whiteside.
Without a full complement of offensive weapons, the Eagles’ passing game has struggled mightily this season — though it has been headlined by the regression of Wentz. Philadelphia’s aerial attack ranks 27th in the NFL entering Week 4 while their three receiving touchdowns is tied for second-worst in the league.
