Eagles Rule Out Jonathan Greenard, Sweat Eli Stowers' Hamstring Ahead of Washington Clash

The Philadelphia Eagles are already playing the injury management game, and it is not even mid-September. According to NFL Network's Mike Garafolo, linebacker Jonathan Greenard has officially been ruled out for Sunday's divisional tilt against the Washington Commanders with a pectoral injury.

Losing a starting linebacker to a pec issue this early in the season is the exact kind of headache defensive coordinators lose sleep over. Greenard is a key piece of the defensive front, and now Philadelphia has to patch the hole before Washington even gets off the bus.

"NFL Network's Mike Garafolo reported the injury statuses for Greenard and Stowers."

To make matters slightly more annoying for the coaching staff, rookie tight end Eli Stowers is officially questionable with a hamstring problem. Hamstrings are the check-engine lights of the NFL. You can try to ignore them, but they usually end up costing you a lot more down the road if you push it.

The Eagles are hosting Washington on Sunday night, which means the lights are bright and the margin for error is thin. Divisional games are usually won in the trenches, and missing a guy like Greenard gives the Commanders an immediate target to test in the run game.

If you were banking on the Eagles' defense to completely shut down Washington, Greenard's absence is a pretty massive variable to factor in. It also means the Eagles' depth chart is about to get a very public stress test.

We will see if Stowers can get loose enough in pregame warmups to give the offense another weapon. But for the defense, the reality is already set. It is next man up in Philly, ready or not.