EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Eagles starting safety Reed Blankenship was ejected for a blindside block in the third quarter against the Jets at MetLife Stadium.
He was officially ruled out due to a rib injury.
Blankenship was attempting to make a play against Garrett Wilson, but received a brutal blindside block from veteran receiver Allen Lazard. Lazard was penalized on the play, and the Jets stalled on a promising drive, forcing them to punt away.
After being on the grass for a while, Blankenship headed to a blue medical tent and finally went inside.
The Eagles entered this game without much depth at the safety spot. Starter Justin Evans (knee) was placed on IR late last week, and rookie Sidney Brown (hamstring) has been inactive for the third straight week. So they started the game with Blankenship and veteran Terrell Edmunds as starters.
After Blankenship left the game, the Eagles have Edmunds and UDFA rookie cornerback Mekhi Garner at safety. Garner was promoted from the practice squad for this game, which will be his NFL debut.
The Eagles had multiple injuries in this game. Lane Johnson (ankle) has already been ruled out. Shortly after Blankenship was injured, nickel cornerback Bradley Roby was forced out with a shoulder injury. I doubt he’ll come back.
The injury bug hit the secondary hard early this season. They have never played back-to-back games in the same group throughout the year.
