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News broke on Tuesday that Philadelphia Eagles’ starting wide receiver Alshon Jeffery has officially been ruled out for the first two games of the season, with the team hoping that he’ll be ready for their week 3 matchup against the Indianapolis Colts.
Eagles WR Alshon Jeffery is expected to miss at least the first two games of the season, but the team will activate him to the 53-man roster this weekend with optimism he could be back by week 3, per @mortreport and me.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 28, 2018
As a result, Jeffery will miss Philadelphia’s season-opener against the Atlanta Falcons on September 6. This absence will stem from a torn rotator cuff, which has kept the former South Carolina receiver off the practice field throughout all of training camp and preseason.
Jeffery opted to play through the injury in 2017 and have surgery on it in the offseason, and that resulted in his placement on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list at the beginning of Training Camp. The Eagles have elected to take him off the PUP list and to keep him on the 53-man roster, which showcases their belief that he’ll be ready to return within the first six weeks.
Jeffery played out the 2017 season on a “prove it” deal with the Eagles, signing a one-year contract worth $9.5 million with the eventual Super Bowl champions. He ended up signing a 4 year/$52 million ($26.75 million guaranteed) contract extension last December.
Jeffery totaled 57 receptions for 789 receiving yards in 2017, good for second on the team behind tight end Zach Ertz. He also led the team in both targets (120) and receiving touchdowns (nine).
The absence will be noticeable for Philadelphia come week one, as Jeffery had four catches on five targets for a team-high 61 receiving yards in the their narrow Divisional Round victory against the Falcons back in January.
Nelson Agholor, Mack Hollins, Mike Wallace, Shelton Gibson, Markus Wheaton, Kamar Aiken, DeAndre Carter, Darius Prince, Tim Wilson, Greg Ward, Bryce Treggs and Rashard Davis are the other receivers on Philadelphia’s roster before final cuts. Wallace or possibly Hollins are projected to be the team’s starters at WR, along with Agholor, on that opening Thursday Night game.
In addition to Jeffery, I would venture to guess that we won’t see Carson Wentz in that first game either.