The Eagles’ secondary is healing quickly. Adoree’ Jackson is set to return against the Bears.

By the end of Sunday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys, it seemed possible that the Eagles — on a short week — could be missing three starters in the secondary for Friday’s contest against the Chicago Bears.

Reed Blankenship, Adoree’ Jackson, and Drew Mukuba were hurt in the second half of the loss and did not return to action. But only Mukuba, who will require surgery to repair a right leg fracture, sources told The Inquirer, is expected to miss the Week 13 game against the Bears.

That’s good news for Jackson, who was evaluated for a concussion Sunday just five weeks after he suffered one against the Minnesota Vikings. The 30-year-old cornerback did not enter concussion protocol, though, and decided not to return to the game as a precaution.

The concussion scare occurred halfway through the third quarter when Jackson said he hit his head on the turf while tackling Cowboys receiver George Pickens. Jackson immediately popped up and threw his helmet down out of frustration, he said, because he knew he had to come out of the game.

Ultimately, the decision not to go back in after he checked out OK was mutually made between Jackson and his evaluators, he said.

“I had one, literally, [five] weeks ago,” Jackson said Wednesday. “So if I know I hit my head and playing fast and throwing my body around, I ain’t about to go and do it again, you know what I mean? It could have been worse. I go back out there and I do some [stuff], and now it’s something else, and now I’m out. Like, out out. You know what I mean? So it’s one of those situations where we were both being precautious of the situation at hand.”

Jackson was a full participant Wednesday in practice, the lone session of the short week. That made practice all the more important, Jackson said, because he could marry the mental side of his preparation so far this week (film study and walk-through) with his physical movements on the field.

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With Jackson healthy, defensive coordinator Vic Fangio has the option to start the same trio at cornerback — Jackson, outside cornerback Quinyon Mitchell, and nickel cornerback Cooper DeJean — that started against the Cowboys. When Jackson came out in the third quarter, DeJean moved to the outside, and Michael Carter took over in the slot.

But Fangio will have a different starting duo at safety with Sydney Brown set to take over for Mukuba. Blankenship, who exited Sunday’s game with a thigh injury, said Tuesday that he’s still a “little sore” with just a brief respite to recover.

Blankenship was a limited participant in practice and expects to be available to play. While he’ll have a new partner alongside him on Friday, he won’t change who he is as a player and a leader in the secondary.

“I don’t like to change who I am as a person, regardless if you played with me a lot or not,” Blankenship said. “I want to give them the exact same thing I would if they played 1,000 snaps next to me because I feel like I’m not doing my job if I change for them. But I’m going to try and do my best to be more vocal, communicate a little bit more, little bit better, kind of say stuff and let [Brown] anticipate stuff that’s coming if he [doesn’t] really realize it at times. But I guess just be a shoulder to lean on.”

Friday will mark Brown’s first start at safety since Week 2 against the Kansas City Chiefs, when he was rotating with Mukuba. By Week 4 against the Los Angeles Rams, Mukuba was the full-time starter.

Brown is eager for his opportunity to start, especially considering his NFL journey so far. Brown, the Eagles’ third-rounder out of Illinois in 2023, suffered a season-ending ACL tear in his rookie year that set him back in his second season, too.

“It’s going to be amazing,” Brown said Tuesday about starting. “That’s what I came here to do, and just embracing the opportunity for what it is. I feel horrible for Drew. He’s been having a great season so far, doing a really good job in the secondary as a safety. I hate to see that as a young player. I can relate to him, ’cause I went through it. I know what he’s going through is a tough process, but he’s going to get through it. He’s going to be better on the back end of it.”

The strength of the secondary will be all the more important against Caleb Williams and the Bears’ passing offense, which ranks 12th in the league at 227 yards per game. Williams, the Bears’ first overall pick in the 2024 draft out of Southern California, can test defenses deep and has completed 23 passes of 25-plus yards this season (fifth among NFL quarterbacks).

The Bears beat the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday as Williams had his fourth career game in which he passed for at least three touchdowns with no interceptions.

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While Williams & Co. will provide yet another test for Fangio’s secondary, Jackson is optimistic that the unit will find stability after the way the game against the Cowboys ended.

“Everybody wants to be out there and to play and have yourself accessible and ready to go, but at the end of the day, the final judgment comes from above,” Jackson said. “But to have all hands on deck is always glass half full.”

DeVonta Smith (shoulder/chest/illness) did not participate in practice. The illness was a new addition to the injury report for the 27-year-old wide receiver, who was listed with the shoulder and chest injuries on Tuesday’s estimated injury report. (The Eagles held a walk-through that day.)

In addition to Smith and Mukuba, Xavier Gipson (shoulder) and Lane Johnson (foot) did not participate. Meanwhile, Blankenship, Saquon Barkley (groin), Landon Dickerson (knee), and Brandon Graham (groin) were limited participants.

The Eagles’ final injury report will be released on Thursday.