Lost in the hullabaloo of the Philadelphia Eagles first win of the season and the inspiring play of a couple of Philly's rookie defenders was the loss of a key player at a position that's already been decimated by injury this season. Inside linebacker DeMeco Ryans, who spent this offseason working his way back from a torn Achilles suffered in Week 8 of the 2014 NFL season, exited the Eagles' game against the New York Jets late on Sunday and, according to Paul Domowitch of the Philadelphia Daily News, limped out of the locker room afterward.
Per Domowitch, Ryans injured his groin sometime in the second half and "wasn't on the field much" in the fourth quarter. With fellow inside linebacker's Kiko Alonso (knee sprain) and Mychal Kendricks (hamstring) already on the shelf for the foreseeable future, that doesn't bode well for the Eagles at what is a key playmaking position in their 3-4 defense. There was no word on the severity of Ryans' injury, and the manner in which rookie third-round pick Jordan Hicks filled in for Kendricks and Alonso, to the tune of a team-high 10 tackles, one interception and one fumble recovery, certainly looked promising, so there's not yet reason to worry in Philadelphia.
But with Alonso reportedly headed to visit with Dr. James Andrews to seek a second opinion on his injured knee and potentially courting season-ending surgery and Kendricks, per Domowitch, not likely back for at least a couple more weeks, a position of strength suddenly looks very thin. Versatile veteran Brad Jones is likely more of an outside guy at this point due to Philly's lack of depth there, so Najee Goode, a once-promising 'backer picked up off the street recently after being cut by the team this preseason, would likely get the nod if Ryans can't go next week against the Washington Redskins - news thats likely to get some hearts racing in the City of Brotherly Love. That being said, Hicks' play on Sunday had everyone on the team excited for his future in midnight green.
"Jordan's a great football player," safety Walter Thurmond said, via Domowitch. "He's very smart. I saw his ability back in OTAs. I didn't realize at first that he was a rookie because of how smart he was and how fluid he was at linebacker. It showed today (with him) getting a fumble recovery and an interception."
If Hicks and corner Eric Rowe, who had a pass breakup and an interception against the Jets, can keep contributing and creating impact plays, it will go a long way toward helping an Eagle team that hasn't been able to get much going offensively thus far this season and seems destined to rely on their defense to win the big games, stay in the thick of the race in the NFC and the NFC East.
