The 12-1 Eagles have been examined, analyzed and rightfully praised from just about every angle this season. Jalen Hurts has taken the leap. The defense is excellent at all three levels. The coaching is on point seemingly every week. Amazing GM work from Howie Roseman.
But there hasn't been much mention about how healthy they've been to date. And it doesn't matter which "team healthiness" site or metric utilized. And, of course, being healthy, particularly at this stage of the season, is vital.
Dr. Matt Provencher, who runs ThePredictors.com and his "Banged-Up Score" (BUS) Rankings, which measures NFL team health and factors in player quality, is used at Fox Sports and has the Eagles as the fifth-healthiest team in football entering Week 15.
The famous @ManGamesLostNFL Twitter account released this photo this week.
Not only have the Eagles stayed very healthy, the cumulative quality of Philadelphia's players who have been shelved due to injury has been lower than almost every team in football.
However, it's not all been gravy for the Eagles on the injury front. The injury bug has infiltrated the safety room at 1 Novacare Way in Philadelphia. Chauncey Gardner-Johnson suffered a lacerated kidney in Week 13's win over the Packers. He's still on IR. Then, just last week, his stand-in, Reed Blankenship, sprained his knee in the win over the Giants.
Suddenly, the Eagles are reeling at the safety position.
And they have a time-tested remedy for the problem. Enter Anthony Harris, one of the most fascinating practice squad players in the NFL today. The former undrafted free agent out of Virginia erupted in Minnesota with the Vikings in 2019, tying for the league lead in interceptions with six before being hit with the franchise tag that offseason.
After a down year relative to expectations, the Vikings didn't extend or re-sign their franchise player, and Philadelphia inked him to a deal the following March. He appeared in 14 games last season and had one interception to go along with three pass breakups. Harris was re-signed entering the 2022 campaign, but was released after the Gardner-Johnson acquisition.
Now he's back to patch the back end of the safety position while Gardner-Johnson is nursed back to healthy. Ironic.
Time to call him up, Eagles. It'd be good for him to get some game experience in Week 15 against the Bears before the colossal matchup with in Dallas against the Cowboys in Week 16.
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The CUT (call-up tracker) is rolling. Three elevations this past Saturday, and the Browns just elevated Week 14 member Jermaine Carter for Cleveland's Week 15 contest against the Ravens. WOOOOOO.
Oh, and by the way, we're going with a full-scale "anyone-is-fair-game-regardless-of-NFL-experience" theme at The PSPR for the rest of the regular season. Teams are taking advantage of the new, loosened practice-squad rules as they pertain to veterans. We are exercising the right to feature them, too. Boom roasted.
Remember faithful PSPR patrons, don't be shy to hit me up on Twitter @ChrisTrapasso to alert me about any PSPR members getting the glorious call this weekend.
The expanded, 16-man practice squads are about the only good thing to come out of the pandemic, and they're here to stay in the NFL. Because of this, I run the Practice Squad Power Rankings parallel to the league. I write about 16 individuals every Friday, 10 officially in the rankings and six honorable mentions.
Here's to the Practice Squad Power Rankings flourishing this season and starting to cement its legacy in the hallowed halls of the internet's football-media industry.
10. Andy Isabella, WR, Ravens
Isabella was a blisteringly fast, do-everything wideout at UMass, went in the second round, and never popped in Arizona. He's not solely a gadget-type either. He has low 4.31 speed in his smaller frame. The Ravens have to do everything possible to maintain some semblance of electricity in their passing attack, especially when Lamar Jackson is on the shelf with an injury. Isabella being elevated to bring some downfield juice to Baltimore's offense would be a smart idea.
9. Harrison Hand, CB, Bears
Hand was called up last week for Chicago, and given the dire state of the secondary -- much of which is because of injury -- it'd be smart for Hand to be elevated again. He's a young, springy cornerback who could have a future as a depth cornerback in Chicago in 2023 and beyond. More action will allow the coaching staff ample opportunity to evaluate him.
8. Michael Dogbe, DL, Cardinals
Dogbe was a full-time player for the Cardinals in 2021 and flashed -- albeit minimally -- as a versatile defensive linemen on Vance Joseph's defense. At 4-8, Arizona has zero room for error, and the front seven on defense has been J.J. Watt, Zach Allen then a precipitous drop-off.
7. Reggie Roberson, WR, Titans
Roberson's juice was sapped by a devastating knee injury in his second-to-last season at SMU, yet I will never, ever forget how explosive Roberson was before he went down in 2020. The Titans are absolutely reeling at receiver, and they clearly have no interest in elevating former fourth-round pick Dez Fitzpatrick at the position. Give Roberson an opportunity. There's still some burst and cutting skill to his game.
6. John Hightower, WR, Chargers
The Chargers are getting healthier at receiver yet could use more downfield potential at the position for their Week 15 matchup with the Titans and beyond. Hightower was hardly utilized in Philadelphia before landing in Los Angeles. He did average nearly 17 yards per grab there -- on 10 catches -- and was a big-play weapon at Boise State before entering the league.
5. Solomon Kindley, OG, Giants
The Giants were reeling, then they tied the Commanders. They need to block well for Saquon Barkley and give Daniel Jones decent protection. The offensive line is banged up, and the guard play as been average at its absolute best anyway. Kindley is a compact, road-grading interior blocker who started 13 games for the Dolphins in 2020.
4. Gerrid Doaks, RB, Texans
The Texans were seconds away from the biggest win of their otherwise disastrous 2022 campaign in Week 14 against the Cowboys, and now the Chiefs come to town. YIKES. There'll be no Nico Collins, Brandin Cooks, or Dameon Pierce for Houston. DOUBLE YIKES. Doaks isn't as talented as Pierce -- obviously -- but is a similar runner stylistically. He's built low to the ground and has deceptive quickness for a power back.
3. Kemoko Turay, EDGE, 49ers
Nick Bosa is dealing with hamstring irritation, and even though he'll probably play against the Buccaneers in Week 14, it wouldn't hurt the 49ers to call up another defensive end to spell him at times so he's as fresh as possible for Week 15's prime-time showdown with the Seahawks and, of course, the playoffs. Turay is an incendiary athlete who battled through many injuries in Indianapolis, but looked like a promising pass rusher when healthy.
2. Anthony Harris, S, Eagles
Harris hasn't been able to rekindle the magic of his 2019 campaign, however, playing behind the Eagles' studly defensive front could directly lead to him tapping into his previous opportunistic ways. Plus, having two veteran corners on either side of him -- Darius Slay and James Bradberry -- will allow Harris to play more freely.
1. Cole Beasley, WR, Bills
This might be the most wide-open layup in PSPR history. Beasley was re-signed by the Bills this week, ahead of the gigantic matchup with the Dolphins in Orchard Park on Saturday night. Earlier this week, I wrote about what he can bring to the Josh Allen-led offense. While Beasley won't be running routes in the exact same offense or under the exact same offensive coordinator during his first stay with the Bills, current OC Ken Dorsey joined Buffalo's organization in 2019, the same year Beasley did.
Honorable Mention
Tevin Coleman, RB, 49ers
Christian McCaffrey is also a little dinged right now. Coleman feels like that late-season call-up who could turn in a quality performance for Kyle Shanahan. In his prime, Coleman was best as a one-cut run, and that's all he'd need to be in San Francisco's zone-blocking scheme.
Tyler Goodson, RB, Packers
When the Packers are running it well, they're very difficult to stop. To keep Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon -- the latter of whom hasn't been overly effective this season -- fresh, call up Goodson, who was born to run in Mike LaFleur's outside zone system and has serious juice. He ran 4.42 at the combine.
Prince Emili, DT, Saints
Earlier this season, while with the Bills, Emili had a key tipped pass that led to a Jordan Poyer interception in Buffalo's huge comeback win over the Ravens. The Penn grad is a twitchy up-the-field, no-hesitation rusher -- the exact type of player New Orleans could use on its defense right now.
Curtis Brooks, DT, Colts
Brooks was a late bloomer at Cincinnati, but may boast the most dynamic and pure pass-rushing three technique in the 2022 class. I mean that. On just 304 pass-rushing snaps, Brooks registered 43 pressures, thanks to an awesome blend of first-step quickness, leverage and power at the point of attack.
Jaquarii Roberson, WR, Rams
The Rams are essentially fielding a practice squad on offense right now -- plus Baker Mayfield! -- so why not see what you have for the future in Roberson? It's that's time. And, no, he's not related to Reggie above. Fun coincidence, though. Roberson was a productive weapon at Wake Forest the past two seasons with 133 catches and over 2,000 yards.
Deven Thompkins, WR, Buccaneers
Thompkins had five catches for 53 yards -- including two contested-catch wins! -- during the 2022 preseason. He's also a Brady-type, too, in that he was a 0-star recruit when he joined the Utah State program in 2018. Brady loves an underdog's underdog, and that's precisely what Thompkins is. Lastly, Tampa Bay could use more juice at receiver, especially given how pedestrian the offense has been of late. He has 4.44 speed, had a 38.5-inch vertical and a 132-inch broad jump at his pro day.
