Kenneth Gainwell Injury Updates | Shark Bites

Eagles RB D'Andre Swift rushed 18 times in Sunday's win over the Cowboys but gained just 43 yards. The 18 carries were his most since Week 2. The 2.4 yards per carry was his second-lowest mark of the year. Swift exploded into view with 6.9 yards per carry across weeks 2 and 3, racking up 175 and 130 yards. Since then, however, he has averaged just 3.4 yards per rush and 51.0 yards per game across six contests. That span has coincided with G Cam Jurgens' foot injury. He left the first game of that span early and has missed the five since. Jurgens' impending return can obviously only help the run game and should assist Swift's efficiency. The RB did, at least, add 31 yards on 2 receptions against the Cowboys. He watched QB Jalen Hurts and RB Kenneth Gainwell claim the team's two rushing scores, though.

Eagles RB Kenneth Gainwell (ribs) is not listed on the final Week 3 injury report. He'll be back for Monday night's game vs. the Bucs. We're expecting RB D'Andre Swift to start that game after his big Week 2. But this backfield remains one of the toughest to project. RB Boston Scott (concussion) has been ruled out, so RB Rashaad Penny should be active as the No. 3 RB on Monday.

RB D'Andre Swift dominated the Eagles backfield work and dominated the Vikings defense on Thursday night. With RB Kenneth Gainwell out with a rib injury, Swift handled 28 of 36 RB carries (78%), ripping off 175 yards and a score. Swift displayed impressive vision and explosiveness, running behind an offensive line that manhandled Minnesota's defense. He was a bit unlucky to not have an even bigger fantasy outing, twice getting tackled at the one-yard line. (QB Jalen Hurts scored on the next play both times.) Swift, of course, got just two touches behind a healthy Gainwell in Week 1. But it's tough to imagine the Eagles going away from him as their lead back after this performance.

The Eagles have ruled RB Kenneth Gainwell out for Thursday night's game against the Vikings with the rib injury that has kept him out of practice each day. The short turnaround from Sunday's opener certainly doesn't help the guy who dominated backfield work for Philly against the Patriots. D'Andre Swift and Boston Scott each figure to get more snaps in his absence. We're also betting Rashaad Penny gets activated for this game. (He was a healthy scratch in Week 1.) We'll all obviously be guessing on touch distribution with the Week 1 leader out. Swift seems like the top bet, but be careful not to overcommit to any Philly RB.

Eagles RB Kenneth Gainwell (ribs) did not practice on Tuesday. "Gainwell remains a wait and see issue" for Thursday night's game vs. the Vikings, insider Derrick Gunn tweeted. Gainwell's absence would leave Philly's backfield to D'Andre Swift, Boston Scott, and likely Rashaad Penny, who was a healthy scratch for the opener. Check back tomorrow for another update on Gainwell. This doesn't sound like a long-term injury, so he remains a strong target on waiver wires.

The Eagles didn't practice Monday, but they had to project a practice report because of their Thursday night game against the Vikings in Week 2. That report listed RB Kenneth Gainwell not participating because of a rib injury. Gainwell stayed involved to the end of Sunday's win against the Patriots, so there's no indication this is serious. But we'll obviously keep tracking it through the short week. If Gainwell were to go inactive, we'd bet on Rashaad Penny taking the game-day roster spot. In that case, we'd all have to guess at the work distribution, which Gainwell dominated in Week 1. D'Andre Swift and Boston Scott were active but minimally involved at New England. The short turnaround could mean a wider spread of Week 2 opportunities even if Gainwell is good to go.

"Signs are pointing to a running back by committee in Philadelphia," ESPN's Tim McManus writes. Five Eagles RBs -- D'Andre Swift, Rashaad Penny, Kenneth Gainwell, Boston Scott, and Trey Sermon -- have received first-team reps in camp. McManus expects Swift, Penny, and Gainwell to all be in the mix for regular-season touches, "with matchups and in-game performance likely to sway how much each player is utilized in a given week." That sounds like a fantasy nightmare. On the plus side, we know this will be a productive offense and running game. And an injury to any one of those top three would make the other two much better fantasy plays. This is still a backfield to invest in at the right price. Penny remains our favorite value on the bunch, with an ADP in late Round 9.

The Eagles and RB Rashaad Penny have agreed to a one-year deal, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. The former NFL first-round pick has struggled to stay healthy in his career, though he's shown the ability to be an effective fantasy RB when healthy. Penny has averaged over six yards per carry on 176 carries in 15 games over the last two seasons. Prior to succumbing to a fractured tibia in Week 5, Penny was the RB24 overall in PPR scoring with an 11.7 PPG average through the first month of the 2022 season. Should he stay healthy, Penny has an opportunity to thrive behind an Eagles offensive line that ranked 6th in Football Outsiders' adjusted line yards in 2022. That said, the presence of QB Jalen Hurts does cap the upside of any RB in the Eagles' offense, particularly in the red zone. There's reason to like Penny as a dead zone RB in redraft this season. Moreover, if the Eagles don't address the RB room beyond this signing, RB Kenneth Gainwell becomes an incredibly appealing fantasy option as a bench stash. Gainwell, a former 4th-round pick in 2021, performed well down the stretch for the Eagles and would stand to inherit some hefty work should the oft-injured Penny find himself ailing again in 2023. This backfield will be scary if all goes well assuming health.

Eagles RB Miles Sanders posted an 18-71-1 rushing line in Sunday night's win over the Cowboys. It marked his 2nd highest carry total of the year and the 5th straight game in which he garnered 15+ attempts. RB Boston Scott returned from a 2-game rib injury to carry 6 times for 16 yards. RB Kenneth Gainwell rushed 5 times for 25 yards. Sanders claimed the backfield's only target in a game that saw QB Jalen Hurts go just 15-for-25 passing.

The Eagles rested RB Boston Scott -- along with many starters -- in Saturday's preseason finale. RB Kenneth Gainwell played, however -- though he did leave after the team's 1st offensive possession. Brandon Lee Gowton of the Bleeding Green Nation Eagles blog writes that "points to him being RB3, which is a little weird because Gainwell seemed like RB2 for most of camp." Gainwell opened his rookie season as RB2 behind Miles Sanders before falling behind Scott and Jordan Howard in usage after Sanders went down. We'll see exactly how things sort out here. For now, both Gainwell and Scott make sense in the double-digit rounds of fantasy football drafts. Sanders is also going late enough to mitigate some of the risk on his role uncertainty and high injury probability. This could be a frustrating situation for fantasy players to deal with week to week, though.

Eagles RB Kenneth Gainwell was back at practice on Sunday. He missed less than a week with a minor hip injury. Some Eagles insiders believe Gainwell is in line for pass-catching and goal-line duties for Philly this year. That'd make him a valuable fantasy asset.

Eagles RB Kenneth Gainwell has missed a couple of practices with a hip injury. The issue is believed to be minor, but we’ll keep an eye on his status going forward.