The Eagles must declare a 46-man active roster by 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, 90 minutes before kickoff against the New York Giants. Until that very minute, it seems, there will uncertainty as to who will play at safety alongside Malcolm Jenkins.
Call it the Hamstring, Hamstrung Safety Picture (or something like that).
On the team's official injury report, safety Corey Graham and cornerback/safety Jaylen Watkins are listed as "out" for Sunday, both because of hamstring injuries. Rodney McLeod, who also has a hamstring injury that knocked him from the game in Kansas City, is listed as questionable.
McLeod went through a limited portion of Friday's practice, the individual period, and "things felt fine," he said afterward. Whether McLeod is OK to play on Sunday is one thing. That he was able to practice and progress as he's done since suffering the hamstring injury last Sunday in the second quarter of the 27-20 loss at Kansas City is encouraging.
"I'm just taking it one day at a time," McLeod said. "The trainers have been doing a good job and we're working extra hard to get back and I did something today and it's a good sign. We'll just see what happens on Sunday.
"The goal was to take it day to day and that's what I've been doing. It's been improving and we'll just see what happens Sunday in the pregame (warmups)."
McLeod believes he has healed more quickly than originally anticipated, which is why he has a chance, however realistic, to play against the Giants. McLeod said he was "frustrated" walking off the field in Kansas City with the kind of injury he hadn't had since his high school days.
"Things have been on the upside this week," McLeod said.
Graham has played in 159 consecutive games in his career, a streak that will end on Sunday. He said he's made good progress during the week, but clearly not enough to give it a chance against the Giants.
The Eagles also have veteran Chris Maragos, who started two games at safety in 2015, when he played in 305 of the defense's snaps. Since then, Maragos, a special teams star, played one defensive snap in 2016 and none in two games this season.
Trae Elston was claimed off of waivers from Buffalo and joined the team at the NovaCare Complex on Thursday. He's likely to be active after practicing for two days with the defense.
