Eagles nickel cornerback Avonte Maddox missed his second straight day of practice as the Eagles prepare to face the Commanders.
That means that Maddox (hamstring) is clearly in danger of missing this Monday Night Football matchup.
While the Eagles (8-0) can probably beat the Commanders (4-5) without Maddox, they’d obviously like to have him in this game. Especially because Commanders receiver Curtis Samuel operates mostly out of the slot.
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On the season, Samuel has been in the slot for 68.7% of his offensive snaps, according to ProFootballFocus. While Terry McLaurin is clearly the Commanders’ most dangerous receiver, Samuel is putting together a nice season. Through nine games, he has 45 catches for 455 yards and 3 touchdowns. And Samuel has had at least 50 yards receiving in each of his last three games.
The interesting thing about Maddox’s absence is that his backup Josiah Scott is getting over an ankle injury. Scott missed the Texans game and has been limited on Thursday and Friday.
Earlier this season, when Maddox missed two games (Jacksonville and Arizona) with an ankle injury, the Eagles simply plugged-and-played Scott.
Scott, 23, has played in seven games for the Eagles this season with those two starts. During training camp, the Eagles began to cross-train Scott at safety but his most natural position is nickel cornerback. If he’s healthy enough on Monday night, he might get his third start of the season.
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In addition to Maddox, cornerback Jobe (hamstring) was also not practicing on Friday. He was a spectator as the Eagles moved inside their practice bubble because of storms in South Philly. All 10 of the Eagles who were limited for rest on Thursday were practicing again on Friday. Landon Dickerson (rest) was limited on Friday.
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