Jalen Reagor's fairly productive start to his first NFL campaign has come to a halt.
The receiver suffered an ulnar collateral ligament tear, the Eagles announced Wednesday.
The injury is the same as the one suffered by Saints quarterback Drew Brees in 2019, which required surgery to repair and forced him to miss five games. According to a story written by The Times-Picayune health reporter Emily Woodruff last year, the injury compromises a person's ability to grip and pinch, which would seem to affect Reagor's ability to catch a football.
Reagor attempted to play through the injury in Philadelphia's Week 2 loss to Los Angeles, but according to NFL Network's Mike Garafolo, it sounds as if he'll miss a few weeks. The Eagles did not specify whether Reagor's injury will require surgery. NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported he is expected to land on injured reserve.
Reagor began his NFL career with a bang, catching one pass for a 55-yard gain in Philadelphia's Week 1 loss to Washington. He caught four passes for 41 yards Sunday versus the Rams.
Philadelphia selected Reagor with the hopes of adding a much-needed weapon to its receiving corps, which was decimated by injuries last season. He's stepped into a significant role, playing 105 total offensive snaps through two weeks.
Still, the Eagles have struggled offensively, scoring just 36 combined points between their first two games. Quarterback Carson Wentz has stumbled out of the gate, completing 50 of 85 passes while also posting a 2-4 touchdown-to-interception ratio.
When asked about Wentz's struggles and why he appears to be having difficulty completing open passes -- "layups," as the reporter asked Wednesday -- Eagles coach Doug Pederson was sarcastic with his response.
"Have you played quarterback in the National Football League?" Pederson asked. "Okay. They're not layups.
"There isn't a throw out here that's a layup. Some of it is just timing with young guys. Some of it is just Carson just being not accurate at that particular time. Could be that there is a defensive guy that flashed a hand where he's got to change his arm angle at the split second. There are all kinds of reasons for accuracy."
The Eagles will now need to look down their depth chart for Reagor's replacement in a season that has already seen Philadelphia encounter multiple injuries on the offensive line. If anything, the Eagles are used to adjusting to health-related losses on the fly. We'll see how they react to the loss of Reagor for at least the near future.
