The Philadelphia Eagles will be without running back Kenneth Gainwell on Thursday night against the Minnesota Vikings, the team announced Wednesday.
Gainwell didn’t practice Monday or Tuesday while dealing with a rib injury, while the Philadelphia Inquirer‘s Jeff McLane reported he was “trending toward” not being available in Week 2.
The 24-year-old is coming off a solid showing in Philly’s 25-20 win over the New England Patriots in Week 1. He ran for 54 yards on 14 carries and caught four passes for 20 yards.
Fantasy football managers took notice as he became a popular target on the waiver wire.
With Gainwell out, D’Andre Swift might see his usage climb significantly after a forgettable debut with the team. He had two total touches against New England.
Head coach Nick Sirianni told reporters Wednesday he wants to get Swift more involved in the offense but added he doesn’t have one broad role in mind for the offseason acquisition.
“He’ll be in that role sometimes where he carries the load for the game, and he’ll be in the role sometimes like he was in last game,” Sirianni said.
“Again, we don’t ever want to come out with him only having those many touches. That’s just kind of how the flow went in the game. We had things called for him, but sometimes the ball doesn’t go for him in a certain way. That’s just the way the defense takes it away.”
Swift’s response to those remarks was somewhat cryptic.
He might have been alluding to a sense of frustration with his limited workload in Week 1, or he could simply be excited about what’s ahead.
How the carries are spread among the Eagles backfield will be among the subplots Thursday night.
