The Eagles got some encouraging news on Reed Blankenship’s knee injury Monday morning.
Blankenship, making his second career start, left the Eagles’ game Sunday against the Giants at MetLife Stadium midway through the second quarter and did not return.
According to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network, Blankenship was diagnosed with a low-grade sprain and will not need to go on Injured Reserve, which would sideline him for a minimum of four games. Garafolo said there is no timeline for Blankenship’s return but called it a “short-term injury” quoting unnamed sources.
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That comes as a huge relief for the Eagles, who lost starting safety and NFL interception leader Chauncey Gardner-Johnson to a lacerated kidney in the Packers game. He’s missed two games and isn’t eligible to return until the Saints game at the Linc on New Year’s Day.
Blankenship replaced Gardner-Johnson in the Packers game and became the first undrafted rookie ever to intercept Aaron Rodgers. He played very well both against Green Bay and against the Titans last week in his first career start.
Pro Football Focus grades Blankenship at 86.2, which is the highest grade of any safety in the NFL who’s played more than one game. That’s based on only 120 defensive snaps, but it’s still the highest grade any Eagles safety has received from PFF since Quintin Mikell had a 90.2 grade in 2008.
With Gardner-Johnson and Blankenship both unavailable Sunday, K’Von Wallace played opposite Marcus Epps and was credited with five tackles. Wallace played 46 snaps, his 4th-most since the Eagles drafted him in the fourth round in 2020.
As of now, Epps and Wallace are the only healthy pure safeties on the 53-man roster. Josiah Scott, who played nickel before Avonte Maddox returned Sunday, can also play safety in a pinch.
One interesting option on the practice squad is Marquise Blair, who was the Seahawks’ 2nd-round pick in 2019 out of Utah. Blair started three games as a rookie and played 230 defensive snaps. He’s played in 25 career games with the Seahawks and Panthers. He just signed with the Eagles on Nov. 14. He played in three games for Carolina earlier this year but got only one snap on defense.
Andre Chachere is also an option. He’s played in seven games for the Eagles this year, mainly on special teams, and is also currently on the practice squad.
