Injury situation could spell disaster for Eagles at the worst possible spot, and the alarm bells already started ringing
Edge defender Jonathan Greenard suffered a pec injury, and he will miss some time during training camp.
The biggest storyline of Philadelphia Eagles training camp so far dropped like a bomb on Wednesday morning. Edge rusher Jonathan Greenard suffered a pec injury while lifting, and he’s heading to the PUP list. That alone is concerning enough, but the real alarm bells started ringing when defensive coordinator Vic Fangio told reporters it remains to be seen if Greenard will practice in camp and if he’ll be ready for the season opener.
This is bad. I’m not going to say Greenard is going to miss the entire season, but the Eagles traded for this guy. They invested in him. They’re paying him $25 million per year. The edge room was already thin on depth coming out of last season, and Philadelphia needed that veteran to step up and be the leader of the group. Now, before training camp even truly gets rolling, there’s genuine uncertainty about whether he’ll be ready for Week 1.
The mixed messages make it worse
This could not feel like more of a disaster for the Eagles right now. You have to hope Greenard is okay and can get back early in the season to find his groove, because we definitely do not want to see another Bryce Huff situation unfold along this defensive line.
Now, general manager Howie Roseman tried to strike back at the narrative. He came out and said this is not a long-term injury, nothing the organization is concerned about. And of course the GM is going to defend his move and try to calm the waters. But if you listened to what Fangio said, he was not singing the same tune. The information sounds unbalanced, and that disconnect between the front office and the coaching staff is the kind of thing that makes you raise an eyebrow.
What happens next on the edge?
Fangio is going to have to move pieces around in the meantime. Pec injuries can be long-term, and the vague timeline only adds to the concern. The Eagles invested premium resources to upgrade their pass rush, and right now their biggest addition is sitting out in a jersey with no pads on. Philadelphia’s depth behind Grenard was already a question mark, and this puts even more pressure on the younger guys to step up before they’re ready.
I guess all we can do is monitor the situation and hope that Roseman’s version of events is the accurate one. But the fact that Fangio wouldn’t co-sign that optimism tells you everything you need to know about where things stand. We’ll see what happens, but right now, this is one of those situations where Eagles fans have every right to be nervous.