Eagles Injury Update: Rookie RB Donnel Pumphrey tears hamstring

Share

Rookie running back Donnel Pumphrey probably wasn't going to play anytime soon.

Now he won't even have the chance.

During Wednesday's practice, Pumphrey tore his right hamstring on running play with the scout team. His rough rookie season hit yet another rough patch.

On Friday, the Eagles placed him on injured reserve, possibly ending his season. The Eagles could bring Pumphrey back after eight weeks if he is healthy enough, but they can do that with only two players this season. Kicker Caleb Sturgis could be one of them. Pumphrey said the doctors told him it's a four to six week injury, but he'll be out for at least eight. 

"It didn't really pull or anything," Pumphrey said on Friday. "It just felt like it grabbed twice. I did it twice in the same practice. And I was able to walk off the field and not limping or nothing. I got the MRI and they said it was torn." 

During training camp, Pumphrey had injured the same hamstring and was out for a few days. On Friday, he said while his hamstring felt better after the initial injury, he never lost the tightness in it.  

"It's definitely disappointing," Pumphrey said. "Gotta deal with it." 

Even when he was healthy, Pumphrey wasn't very good. In fact, had he not been a fourth-round pick, he probably wouldn't have made the team. The Eagles did something very rare to keep him: they kept five running backs.

The hope was to develop the 5-foot-9, 176-pound running back while keeping him inactive on game days. That plan is now obviously on hold.  

"Well, it'll set him back because he won't be able to run and do all the things that we want him to do," Pederson said. "It's unfortunate. We know it's part of the game but we'll keep him plugged in, in the meeting rooms and around the team and keep him plugged in that way."

Pumphrey is one of three players who has already been ruled out for Sunday's game in Kansas City. The other two are Ronald Darby (ankle) and Destiny Vaeao (wrist). Darby is obviously out for a while with a dislocated ankle; Pederson said Darby is "week to week."

With Vaeao out, there's a chance rookie sixth-round pick Elijah Qualls might play. As the fourth-string defensive tackle, Vaeao got 12 snaps in the opener.  

"There's a chance," Pederson said about Vaeao's possibly playing. "We've worked him this week in practice. He definitely has an opportunity to play in this game, sure."

Thanks to the hip injury to Caleb Sturgis, who is on IR, this Sunday will be the debut of kicker Jake Elliott. Elliott was a fifth-round pick of the Bengals, but the Eagles signed him earlier this week.

Pederson said he has been impressed with the new kicker during the week of practice and having Elliott instead of Sturgis won't affect his decision-making.

"That's a great question because that's something we discussed during the week," Pederson said. "This place Arrowhead, the winds obviously can be, they can swirl around in this place. I just have to trust my gut and trust my instinct and trust the players. I've said that all along. I can't go in here second-guessing myself or a decision. I have to pull the trigger. If I feel like we're going to kick a field goal, then we'll kick it. It's not going to change my decision-making one way or the other."

Exit mobile version