Eagles rookie cornerback JaCorey Shepherd has torn ACL

Rookie cornerback JaCorey Shepherd tore his ACL over the weekend, the Eagles have confirmed, and now the team is suddenly scrambling to decide who will play the slot corner position.

Philly.com reports the injury occurred when Shepherd collided with running back Darren Sproles while trying to make a tackle in Sunday’s practice. The Eagles are looking for a cornerback to take that starting spot after trading Brandon Boykin last week. He tried getting up, but couldn’t put any weight on his leg. He went back down and was ultimately carted off the field. Plus, they dissect the JaCorey Shepherd injury news and Tim Tebow’s odds of making the team. It could be Carroll who moves to the inside, but Billy Davis has been adamant about moving him inside – same with Rowe.

However Shepherd seemed very promising through the Eagles’ offseason exercises, sufficient in order that they traded Boykin.

“Everybody’s going to get in there and get a look at it”, he said. It’s Walter Thurmond, it’s Malcolm Jenkins. With Shepherd out, the Eagles likely will look at second-year defensive back Jaylen Watkins and undrafted rookie Denzel Rice in the nickel. The Eagles are off Monday, and Kelly isn’t scheduled to address the media until Tuesday. Biggers started just seven out of 31 games over his two seasons in Washington. The question of whether Kelly should have made the Boykin trade will always linger, but the Eagles will have to move on, and fast, if they want to take the next step this season. Thurmond was a good slot corner in his time with the Seahawks, but he struggled to stay on the field. So right now I’ll give the younger and other guys some nickel reps.

All of that will be determined over the coming weeks, especially if Shepherd’s injury keeps him out for several weeks, or possibly the season if it’s a torn ACL. It certainly is bad timing and something we’ll never know.