After suffering a rib injury, Eagles running back Kenneth Gainwell has been ruled out for Week 2 against the Vikings.
The Philadelphia Eagles will be without running back Kenneth Gainwell against the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday night, the organization confirmed Wednesday.
Gainwell did not practice Monday or Tuesday due to a rib ailment, and the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane stated he was “trending toward” missing Week 2.
The 24-year-old is coming off a strong performance in Philadelphia’s Week 1 25-20 triumph over the New England Patriots. On 14 carries, he gained 54 yards and grabbed four catches for 20 yards.
As he became a hot waiver wire target, fantasy football managers took note.
With Gainwell gone, D’Andre Swift’s usage could skyrocket following a dismal start with the team. He only had two touches versus New England.
Head coach Nick Sirianni told reporters on Wednesday that he wants Swift to be more involved in the offense, but he doesn’t have a specific role in mind for the summer addition.
“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 in an interview.
“Once again, we don’t want to come out with him having only those many touches.” That’s just how the flow of the game proceeded. We had things called for him, but occasionally the ball doesn’t go his way. That’s how the defense takes it away.”
Swift’s reaction to those statements was a little vague.
He could have been referring to his unhappiness with his limited workload in Week 1, or he could simply be looking forward to what’s next.
The distribution of carries among the Eagles’ backfield will be one of the subplots on Thursday night.
