Eagles’ Miles Sanders is ruled out for Sunday’s game against the Washington Football Team with a broken left hand
The running back has dealt with an assortment of injuries this season, including a sprained ankle, quad and now a fractured hand.
Eagles running back Miles Sanders broke his hand during the team’s 34-10 victory over the New York Giants on Sunday, coach Nick Sirianni revealed on Monday.
Sanders has been ruled out for this week’s game against the Washington Football Team, although he will not be placed on injured reserve.
In his third season, Sanders has compiled a team-best 754 rushing yards on 137 carries (5.5 yard average). He is the team’s most explosive runner, but he’s yet to reach the end zone to score a touchdown. The Eagles have one of the most potent rushing attacks in the NFL with a league-best 163.2 rushing yards per game and 22 rushing touchdowns.
“Miles did break his hand and he’ll be out this week and then we will re-evaluate [him] after a week,” Sirianni said. “We are hopeful we can get him back at some point this season, so he will not be going to IR.”
Sanders has dealt with an assortment of injuries, including a sprained ankle, quad and now a fractured hand. He was previously placed on IR from Oct. 26 to Nov. 21 with the sprained ankle and missed three games.
Around 5 p.m. Monday, Sanders posted on his Instagram story a photo of himself in a hospital bed with a cast on his left hand. He captioned the photo: “Imma be aight.”
Sanders also tweeted: “By far the most difficult, frustrating, emotional year of my life, I put my heart and soul into this sport, one thing about me tho when adversity hits I always respond, I love these Philly fans, I love my teammates and I promise imma bounce back from this.”
With Sanders out, the Eagles will rely on tailbacks Jordan Howard, Boston Scott and rookie Kenneth Gainwell. The team also has Jason Huntley on the practice squad. Howard suffered a stinger in Sunday’s game, but his MRI “came back good,” according to Sirianni.
Scott and Gainwell lead all offensive skill players with five total touchdowns each, while Howard has three rushing touchdowns. All three have been effective options. Howard averages 5.1 yards per carry, Scott 4.5 yards per rush and Gainwell 3.8 yards. The Eagles have rushed for 125-plus yards in nine straight games.
“Boston is a guy that that every time he’s called upon, he has come through,” Sirianni said. “We have no doubt that he’ll be able to do the same thing this week when called upon. He did it [Sunday]. It’s great to be able to have that type of depth. We’ve got four backs that I think a lot of teams would like to have.”
With two games remaining, the Eagles currently posses the No. 7 and final playoff seed in the NFC. Following Sunday’s game at Washington, the Eagles will host the Cowboys in the regular-season finale on Jan. 9.
Three players added to COVID-19 list
On Monday evening, the Eagles placed defensive ends Derek Barnett and Tarron Jackson and cornerback Andre Chachere on the reserve/COVID-19 list. The team also placed tight end Noah Togiai on the practice squad COVID-19 list.
The Eagles have seven players on the reserve/COVID-19 list, including Barnett, Jackson, Chachere, offensive linemen Andre Dillard and Le’Raven Clark, defensive end Ryan Kerrigan and linebacker Shaun Bradley. Sirianni had a four-day stint with the league’s COVID-19 protocol last week after he tested positive, but he was able to clear protocol prior to Sunday’s game.