The Philadelphia Eagles will be without three key starters when they face the Rams on Sunday. DeVonta Smith, Zack Baun and Marcus Epps were all ruled out, a hit that takes a starting receiver, a starting linebacker and a safety off the field at the same time.
That is the reason the Eagles injury report matters now. Philadelphia is trying to line up replacements before kickoff, and the ripple effect reaches both sides of the ball. Jeremiah Trotter Jr. is expected to start in Baun’s place alongside Jihaad Campbell, while Dontayvion Wicks and Makai Lemon will see bigger roles with Smith out. For a unit built on timing and role clarity, this is not a small adjustment.
Nick Sirianni offered a direct reason for confidence in Trotter. “Every opportunity he’s gotten a chance to play, whether it’s in preseason or in games, he’s done a really nice job,” Sirianni said on Friday. Trotter has already started two games, so this is not an emergency promotion from nowhere. It is still a thinner linebacker group than the Eagles wanted, and the burden on Campbell grows sharper because he was limited on Friday with a knee and rest designation before being described as good to go for Sunday.
The same injury report brings a different kind of uncertainty at receiver and safety. Smith’s hamstring injury kept him out all week, but the report never gives a timetable beyond Sunday, which leaves the Eagles with only the broadest definition of how long they will be without him. Marcus Epps was added during the week with a groin injury and had already been rotating with Michael Carter II at safety, so his absence does more than remove one name from the roster. It also forces another reshuffle in a secondary where Cooper DeJean has worked both in the base formation and in the slot, even as Vic Fangio made it clear on Wednesday that DeJean will not become a full-time safety.
Philadelphia is not alone in dealing with injuries. The Rams are also missing several players, including Aaron Donald, Jaylen Watson and Terrance Ferguson, while Colby Parkinson is questionable and Puka Nacua is expected to play after missing the past two games. Hollywood Brown, Dallas Goedert and Fred Johnson are out for the second week in a row, which adds to the sense that this matchup will be decided by depth as much as by star power.
Dontayvion Wicks, who said he has 179 receiving yards on nine catches and one touchdown in 2026, put the challenge in plain terms. “It’s next man up,” he said. “We’re going to be ready.” That is the best summary of what Sunday looks like for the Eagles now: fewer familiar names, more responsibility for the players left standing, and a game plan that has already been forced to change before the first snap.
