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Eagles DT Malik Jackson suffered ‘significant injury’ in Sunday’s victory, Doug Pederson says

Key free agent signee might already be done for 2019. The Eagles are still waiting for some test results.

Eagles defensive tackle Malik Jackson gets carted off the field with a medical staff member after getting injured duirng the fourth-quarter against Washington on Sunday, September 8, 2019 in Philadelphia.
Eagles defensive tackle Malik Jackson gets carted off the field with a medical staff member after getting injured duirng the fourth-quarter against Washington on Sunday, September 8, 2019 in Philadelphia.Read moreYONG KIM / Staff Photographer
    by Les Bowen
    Published 

The Eagles’ good preseason injury luck didn’t quite see them through Sunday’s season-opening 32-17 victory over the Washington Redskins.

Starting defensive tackle Malik Jackson rode a cart to the locker room late in the fourth quarter, and afterward Jackson was sighted wearing a protective boot. Eagles coach Doug Pederson said Monday that Jackson suffered “a significant injury” that will require some time to heal. Pederson said a decision on whether to place Jackson on injured reserve and sign another defensive lineman will hinge on test results that weren’t available when Pederson held his day-after news conference at noon Monday.

Jackson, 29, was the Eagles’ most heralded defensive free agent signing, getting $30 million over three years, with $17 million guaranteed. The team had been looking forward to teaming him with All-Pro DT Fletcher Cox, to keep Cox from being double-teamed so much. They weren’t able to work together much in training camp, as Cox recovered from a foot injury suffered in last season’s playoff loss at New Orleans. Now it’s unclear when they will play together again; Jackson got in 34 snaps on Sunday.

The Eagles have a defensive tackle on their practice squad, Bruce Hector, who appeared in eight games last season. They also could decide to play a few of their defensive ends — Vinny Curry, certainly, and probably Brandon Graham — inside on obvious passing downs. In that case, the potential roster move could be for a defensive end — such as ex-Eagles Chris Long or Connor Barwin.

Jackson’s injury is to his lower leg or foot, but the Eagles have not given specifics. A lis franc foot sprain or an Achilles tendon tear are among the likely possibilities.

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