Eagles injury report: Avonte Maddox and Jake Elliott out, Jordan Mailata doubtful vs. Cardinals

The Eagles ruled out Avonte Maddox and Jake Elliott for their game against the Cardinals this weekend and listed Jordan Mailata as doubtful.

The team’s starting slot cornerback, kicker, and left tackle missed the entire week of practice leading into Sunday’s game at Arizona. Patrick Johnson (concussion) also was ruled out, and Boston Scott (rib) and Kyron Johnson (concussion) were listed as questionable.

This will be Maddox’s second missed game after tweaking an ankle injury in practice leading into the Eagles’ win against the Jacksonville Jaguars last week. Although the defensive back missed practice all week, he was jogging on a side field during Thursday’s session.

The Eagles used Josiah Scott in Maddox’s place against the Jaguars with decent results. He gave up a couple catches and had a few miscues, but he helped the Eagles’ secondary keep Jags receiver Christian Kirk in check. He also logged a pass breakup.

“I feel like I played pretty well,” Scott said. “The things they asked me, I was able to do them and execute for the most part. I feel like I did pretty good.”

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The Eagles had options for replacing Maddox in the slot. They could have moved Darius Slay inside or moved safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson down to the position he played during his first three years in the league.

The decision to use Scott was half a vote of confidence in the former Michigan State standout and half an effort to avoid too many moving parts, defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon said.

“Josiah does a good job for us,” he said Tuesday. “That’s a tough spot, like I’ve talked about with you guys, and he handles it well. He’s got the skill set that you’re looking for as a nickel. I thought he played well. The other thing that goes into that, you don’t want a trickle-down effect as far as, ‘Hey, this guy has got to go here; this guy has got to go here.’ I just thought where we are at as a unit that was the best way to go, and that’s how we’ll continue to proceed.”

Mailata told reporters Thursday that he hoped to be ready for Sunday, but it seems unlikely his hurt shoulder will be healed in time for the game.

If Mailata is ruled out by kickoff, the Eagles likely will turn to Jack Driscoll once again. The team opened the 21-day practice window for backup left tackle Andre Dillard earlier this week so he could return to the field, but he’s missed roughly a month with a broken forearm and has to get back into football shape.

Driscoll played well enough for the Eagles’ offensive line to dominate against the Jaguars; the Eagles rushed for 210 yards and Jalen Hurts was sacked only twice.

Driscoll, a fourth-round pick in 2020, typically cross-trains at both tackle spots and at guard during the week. This week, the former Auburn starter said he’s been getting all the reps at left tackle with Mailata’s tutelage between plays.

“He’s done a great job,” Driscoll said. “That’s one thing, he’s been taking notes on all the plays, just telling me what he sees. It’s going to really help, obviously, he’s one of the best tackles in the league. That instant feedback from him is really helping out.”

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Elliott also was ruled out Friday, as expected. The Eagles signed free agent kicker Cameron Dicker earlier this week in the event that Elliott wouldn’t be available.

Dicker has been working with punter/holder Arryn Siposs and long snapper Rick Lovato all week and said he feels good about the timing of the operation going into Sunday.

“It’s been awesome,” Dicker said. “They’re really good guys. They both do a great job, so it’s a clean operation. ... This is as clean as I’ve seen. It’s one of those easy things to kind of come into and be ready to go.”

Siposs said Dicker’s timing hasn’t disrupted the snap-to-hold process, but the energy in practice has been more urgent without Elliott.

“It is a little bit [strange],” Siposs said. “But, in saying that, you make the adjustments to go out and execute. There hasn’t been too much of a change. … We’ve had all week to kind of get the work done and make sure that we’re good to go.

“Jake’s obviously done it for a long time, so he just goes out there and is very casual about it. Obviously, with Cam in the new position, he’s not really sure of what to do, that’s kind of for us to sort of guide him through that process. In terms of the way they prepare and go out there and warm up, there aren’t too many differences in terms of that.”