An ugly injury suffered during Wednesday's practice might not end Genard Avery's season after all, as according to a report from NFL Insider Adam Caplan, the MRI on the defensive end's injured right knee did not reveal a torn ACL.
It is unclear how long Avery will be out, but the news he did not suffer a season-ending ACL injury is great news for the defensive end and is surprising considering the scene that unfolded on Wednesday.
Avery suffered the injury when he went down hard at the end of an 11-on-11 drill, immediately grabbing his right knee while he was on the ground. Avery looked to be in extreme pain and after being looked at by the trainers had to be carted off the field. Players and coaches consoled Avery before he went in.
Assuming Avery's season is indeed not over, the Eagles now face the question of what to do with the defensive end's roster spot.
If the Eagles place Avery on injured reserve it would end his season. Unlike players who are placed on injured reserve during the season, Avery would be out for the year if he landed on the list during training camp, since he already practiced.
If the Eagles have hopes of Avery returning they could keep him through the initial 53-man roster cutdown, then either just make him inactive each week until he is ready to play, or place him on injured reserve after final cuts. The Eagles are allowed to bring back three players from injured reserve during the season, so by placing Avery on IR after final cuts, they could bring him back at some point — but he would be out at least eight weeks.
The decision will really come down to how much faith the Eagles have in Avery being a contributing player once he is healthy. The Eagles had high hopes for Avery this season after trading a fourth-round pick for him last year at the NFL Trade Deadline. So far, however, he has had a quiet training camp, while defensive ends Joe Ostman and Casey Toohill have both been impressive.
With four defensive ends already locks to make the team — Brandon Graham, Derek Barnett, Vinny Curry and Josh Sweat — the Eagles would have to keep seven defensive ends if they kept those four plus Ostman, Toohill and Avery. There is also the possibility they keep Shareef Miller, their fourth-round pick in 2019.
If the team did not have a fourth-round pick invested in Avery they might have just released him outright at the end of camp.
Now that Avery is injured, the Eagles will have some tough decisions on what to do with his roster spot.
You can reach Eliot Shorr-Parks on Twitter at @EliotShorrParks or email him at esp@94wip.com!
