The Philadelphia Eagles have a tall task in Week 1 of the 2024 season. They will be kicking things off against the Green Bay Packers in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Going up against the upstart Packers is hard enough as they will be looking to prove last season’s performance was not a fluke. They have a potentially high-powered offense led by quarterback Jordan Love, who is surrounded by a ton of weapons.
Unfortunately for the Eagles, one of their big offseason acquisitions will not be on the field to help slow Green Bay down.
Linebacker Devin White has not made the trip with Philadelphia to Brazil, ruling him out for the season opener. He is dealing with an ankle injury.
Earlier this week, he was a limited participant in practice, which hinted at him having a chance to play. But, he was ruled out on Wednesday and isn’t joining his team on the trip to South America.
White, the No. 5 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft out of LSU, was very productive during his first five seasons in the league with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He stuffed the stat sheet, but his effectiveness sometimes waned.
That, combined with the depressed linebacker market, led to him signing a one-year, $4 million prove-it deal with the Eagles.
He has been running with the starters most of the offseason, but defensive coordinator Vic Fangio was mixing and matching trying to find the right combination. White will be a big part of the mix when healthy, but other players will have to step up in his absence.
The likeliest options for the Philadelphia Eagles are Nakobe Dean and Jeremiah Trotter Jr. Dean will presumably be the starter, but expect Trotter to get a good amount of action as well.
After not missing a single game in 2021 and 2022, White missed three last season with the Buccaneers. He dealt with foot and groin injuries, as his effectiveness on the field was negatively impacted, as he had a career-low 83 total tackles.
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