Eagles-Bills Final Injury Report: Quez Watkins questionable, 4 players ruled out

The Philadelphia Eagles issued their third and final official injury report on Friday in advance of their Week 12 game against the Buffalo Bills .

DeVonta Smith notably did not practice on Friday; he was added to the report with a knee injury. But he is listed without a game status and therefore WILL play.

So, hopefully it’s not too serious.

A.J. Brown and D’Andre Swift fully practiced on Friday.

They were previously listed as limited on Wednesday and Thursday. They’re good to go.

Four players were ruled OUT: Dallas Goedert, Milton Williams, Grant Calcaterra, and Justin Evans.

Goedert is missing his second straight game due while he recovers from a fractured forearm. The Eagles seem to hope he can return in Week 13 or Week 14. In the meantime, they’re down to two healthy tight ends on the roster since Calcaterra is also out: Jack Stoll and Albert Okwuegbunam. They’ll likely temporarily elevate Noah Togiai from the practice squad on Saturday in order to have three players at that position.

Williams has not yet been cleared to practice after suffering a concussion on Monday night. The Eagles will miss him; he’s been a good player for them on the interior. Fortunately, Philly has good depth at defensive tackle. Fletcher Cox, Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, Marlon Tuipulotu, and Mojo Ojomo will be their DTs for this game.

Evans did not practice this week after being limited in practice last week. Interesting to see that the Eagles decided to scale him back. He still has time left in his 21-day window before the Eagles need to make a decision on activating him. In the meantime, they have three safeties on the roster: Kevin Byard, Reed Blankenship, and Sydney Brown.

One player was ruled questionable: Quez Watkins.

The sense here is that Watkins will not be active after being limited in practice all week. This status (as opposed to being ruled out), however, indicates he could be on track to fully practice next week and return against the San Francisco 49ers . He’ll likely be WR3 once he’s back. For now, it’s Julio Jones playing that role.

When asked about the status of Avonte Maddox, who went on injured reserve after Week 2, Nick Sirianni did not close the door on him returning this season.

There’s no timeline for him to be back but one would think a deep playoff run might give him a chance of playing again.

Greetings from #Eagles practice.

Something worth noting: Avonte Maddox is going through stretches in street clothes.

Nick Sirianni said earlier that he wouldn’t rule out Maddox having a chance to return from his torn pectoral injury if the team makes a deep postseason run. pic.twitter.com/CVpA24zJGm

— EJ Smith November 24, 2023 Derek Barnett was listed on the injury report prior to being officially waived on Friday.

(FRIDAY)DID NOT PARTICIPATE

TE Grant Calcaterra (ankle)
S Justin Evans (knee)
TE Dallas Goedert (forearm)
DT Milton Williams (concussion)

...

RESERVE/INJURED

LB Shaun Bradley
LB Nakobe Dean
S Justin Evans (designated to return)
OT Roderick Johnson
CB Avonte Maddox
CB Zech McPhearson
WR Quez Watkins (designated to return)

Evans had his 21-day practice window to return from injured reserve opened on November 14. Watkins had his 21-day practice opened on November 22. Dean is dealing with a foot injury and is eligible to return in Week 15 at the earliest. Nick Sirianni did not close the door on Maddox potentially returning this year. Bradley, Johnson, and McPhearson will miss the entire 2023 season since they were placed on IR ahead of roster cuts to the 53-player limit.

(FRIDAY) The Bills have several key starters on IR: CB Tre’Davious White, CB Kaiir Elam, LB Matt Milano, DT DaQuan Jones, and TE Dawson Knox. As you can see, their defense has been bit by the injury bug.

Making matters worse is that they’re missing fill-in starting CB Dane Jackson. Third safety Taylor Rapp, who regularly sees rotational playing time, is also out.

The Eagles should be primed for passing success.

CB Dane Jackson (concussion)
S Taylor Rapp (neck)

...

RESERVE/NON-FOOTBALL INJURY

RB Nyheim Hines

RESERVE/INJURED

TE Zach Davidson
OT Tommy Doyle
CB Kaiir Elam
RB Damien Harris
DT DaQuan Jones
TE Dawson Knox
LB Matt Milano
WR Justin Shorter
CB Tre’Davious White