Philadelphia Eagles running back Kenneth Gainwell will miss the team’s game on Thursday Night Football this week against the Minnesota Vikings. Gainwell was a focal point of the offense last week but was limited in practice Monday and Tuesday with a rib injury.
With Gainwell out, D’Andre Swift and Rashaad Penny are expected to receive more work out of the backfield. Swift, a former member of the Detroit Lions, received just three carries in Week 1 but head coach Nick Sirianni said Wednesday that he plans to involve him more going forward.
“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. “We don’t ever want to come out with him only having those many touches.”
Penny, a recent acquisition from the Seattle Seahawks, was a healthy scratch last week but could fill in to some extent behind Swift. If Penny takes more carries on the ground, Swift could catch more passes out of the backfield, a familiar role to him from his days in Detroit.
Gainwell will not be the only absence for Philadelphia Thursday, as the team will also be missing at least two key defenders. Safety Reed Blankenship and cornerback James Bradberry will also miss Week 2 with another rib injury and concussion, respectively. Star defensive lineman Fletcher Cox is also listed as questionable.
At relative full strength, the Eagles struggled in the later stages of their Week 1 game against the New England Patriots, and if not for a defensive surge early in the game, they may not have won on the road in Foxborough. The team escaped with a messy win, however, and could advance to 2-0 against a Vikings team that fell to a transitioning Buccaneers team last week.
