The Philadelphia Eagles will host the Pittsburgh Steelers Thursday night to open their 2018 preseason and the defending world champions will more than likely be without their top two quarterbacks for that contest.
Starting Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz (knee) won’t play Thursday night against the Steelers as he continues to battle back from the torn ACL he suffered last season. Even if Wentz were fully healthy, odds are good he wouldn’t have played against the Steelers anyway. Wentz’s backup, Nick Foles (neck/shoulder), who was voted Super Bowl MVP last season, is currently dealing with upper body spasms so odds are good he’ll sit out the Eagles preseason opener as well.
If Foles indeed sits out Thursday night, Nate Sudfeld will likely get the start at quarterback against the Steelers and play into the second half. Joe Callahan will then take over for Sudfeld after his night is over. Sudfeld was drafted in the sixth-round by the Washington Redskins a few years ago while Callahan has bounced around the league with several teams since entering the NFL in 2016 as an undrafted free agent.
A couple of former Steelers wide receivers who are now with the Eagles, Mike Wallace (knee) and Markus Wheaton (undisclosed), are both probably somewhere between questionable and probable unofficially for Thursday night due to injuries. Wallace is reportedly currently dealing with knee tendinitis while Wheaton has missed a few recent practices with an undisclosed injury.
Wide receiver Alshon Jeffery (shoulder), defensive end Brandon Graham (ankle), defensive tackle Tim Jernigan (back) and safety Chris Maragos (knee) will all sit out Thursday night as well as all remain on either the team’s Active PUP or NFL lists because of their injuries.
Teams are not required to release injury reports during the preseason so like the Steelers, the Eagles might scratch a few other players not listed above ahead the Thursday night game.
