The Eagles’ Monday night trip to Chicago comes with a familiar-looking inactive list, but there are a few notable twists - especially on offense, where Elijah Moore is set to finally get his first shot of the season.
Philadelphia announced its Week 3 inactives for the matchup with the Bears, and most of the list was already taking shape before kickoff. Three players had been ruled out earlier, leaving the final roster math mostly settled once the team confirmed its two practice squad elevations and got down to a 52-man active group. Since NFL teams can only dress 47 players on game day, five names had to be scratched.
One of the biggest changes is at wide receiver. Brown missed the final two practices with an ankle injury and was ruled out before the game.
He’s logged just 17 snaps this season, all of them in Week 2, and still hasn’t recorded a catch. Even with Brown unavailable, the Eagles will still keep six receivers active.
That opens the door for Moore, who sat out the first two games, to make his debut in Week 3.
That could matter in a game where Philadelphia has leaned heavily on 11 personnel. The Eagles have used that grouping on 76% of their offensive snaps this season, which gives Moore a real path onto the field against Chicago. Makai Lemon and Darius Cooper are expected to handle plenty of work as the WR3 and WR4.
Up front, Johnson is out with a knee injury, which means Markel Bell steps in as the No. 3 tackle. Bell had already been viewed as the next man up, but now that role is official. The Eagles will carry three tackles for this one: Mailata, Johnson, and Bell.
At tight end, Goedert is expected to miss several weeks with a knee injury, though Philadelphia did not place him on injured reserve. That leaves the door open for a return before Week 7 against the Dallas Cowboys on 10/26.
In the meantime, Zach Ertz was elevated from the practice squad and will take over as TE1. Johnny Mundt and E.J.
Jenkins are also active.
The quarterback situation stays straightforward, at least on paper. McKee remains the emergency third quarterback and was inactive for the first two games as Andy Dalton backs up Jalen Hurts. With four quarterbacks on the 53-man roster, McKee’s only route into the game would come if the Eagles’ two active quarterbacks are unavailable because of injury or disqualification.
Payton, the developmental fourth quarterback, has now been inactive for all three games. He also served as an upback on punt team in the final preseason game, but Philadelphia hasn’t used him there in a regular-season contest yet.
On the edge, the Eagles are sticking with four pass rushers for the third straight week. With Jonathan Greenard officially back, Epenesa is the one left as the healthy scratch.
Epenesa has played 20 snaps across two games, which works out to 16.26% of the snaps. Arnold Ebiketie has seen much more action so far, logging 34.96% of the defensive snaps, though his workload should dip now that Greenard is available again.
The big question is how much Greenard will actually play. The expectation is that Philadelphia won’t throw him into a full snap load right away. Instead, he should work in a rotation with Jalyx Hunt and Nolan Smith.
In Other News...
Jalen Hurts Faces A New Eagles Test With Key Targets Missing
Jalen Hurts has already given Eagles fans plenty to like early this season, and Monday night now brings a different kind of test for Philadelphia's offense. With Dallas Goedert sidelined, the passing game loses one of its steadier middle-of-the-field options, which puts even more of the burden on Hurts to keep the offense moving while working around a reshuffled group of targets.
DeVonta Smith and DAndre Swift are among the players expected to take on larger roles, and that makes this a useful checkpoint for how the Eagles want to distribute the ball without one of their regular outlets available. For Hurts, it is another reminder that the weekly challenge is not just producing, but adapting when the pieces around him change. [Read more 🡒]
Eagles Defense Faces A Brutal Test Against Chicago Again
A trip back through film from the Eagles last meeting with Chicago has become a big part of the build-up to Monday night, and for good reason. In that matchup, the Bears gashed Philadelphia for 281 rushing yards and two touchdowns, a reminder of how quickly an opponent can take control if the front seven slips out of position. With another Bears game on deck, the Eagles are treating the tape as both a warning and a blueprint.
Jordan Davis has framed the challenge in simple terms: discipline. Chicagos quarterback situation has changed with the starter injured and a third-stringer expected to get the nod, which only puts more pressure on the Eagles to handle the run game cleanly and avoid letting the game tilt on the ground again. Philadelphia is hoping a recent practice against a similar offensive scheme gives it a better feel for whats coming, but the last meeting is still the standard that has to be erased. [Read more 🡒]
Jonathan Greenard's Return Comes With One Big Eagles Question
Jonathan Greenard is on track to make his Eagles debut against the Bears after sitting out training camp and the first two weeks because of a pectoral injury, and Philadelphia is easing him back in with a clear plan. The move makes sense for a defense that wants his speed and edge presence, but it also reflects how much ground he still has to make up after missing so much of the buildup to the season.
The Eagles have already said they will keep his snap count in check as he works back into game shape, with Greenard expected to rotate alongside Nolan Smith and Jalyx Hunt. For a team trying to balance immediate help with long-term health, his return is less about one Sunday and more about when he can become a full-time part of the pass-rush picture. [Read more 🡒]