By Reice Shipley
Copyright newsweek
The Philadelphia Eagles will look to right the ship after their first loss of the season in Week 5 on a short turnaround in their Week 6 matchup on Thursday night against the New York Giants. They will attempt to do so without star edge rusher Jalen Carter being at full strength due to a heel injury, which NFL insider Ian Rapoport raised concerns about on Thursday morning.
Carter is officially listed as questionable for Thursday’s game with a heel injury after surprisingly popping up on the team’s injury report on Wednesday. And while the injury itself isn’t perceived to be a serious one that will be a long-term issue for Carter, there is some concern about the injury given where the Eagles are set to play on Thursday night.
MetLife Stadium, the home of the New York Giants and the New York Jets, has a notorious reputation of leading to significant lower-body injuries for players that play on the field. Most recently, this occured when Giants star wide receiver Malik Nabers suffered a season-ending torn ACL and meniscus in his right knee back in Week 4.
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA – OCTOBER 5: Jalen Carter #98 of the Philadelphia Eagles looks on against the Denver Broncos at Lincoln Financial Field on October 5, 2025 in Philadelphia, United States. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
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Because of this lengthy track record of severe injuries at MetLife Stadium, NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport shared caution when discussing Carter’s heel injury on “Good Morning Football.”
“My understanding is this is not a major injury,” said Rapoport. “Currently, there is a very real chance that he plays tonight. However, we have seen over the last several years, as a player deals with a lower-body injury, about to play on the MetLife turf, maybe they are a little more cautious than always. So we will reserve judgement on this one until later. But either way, not a significant injury for Jalen Carter.”
From @GMFB: A look at some key injuries in advance of tonight’s #Eagles–#Giants game, with DT Jalen Carter’s heel injury being the one to watch. pic.twitter.com/0UJx62xdVS— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 9, 2025
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Only time will tell whether the Eagles feel comfortable enough about Carter’s injury to make him active for Thursday’s game.
But given the fact that heel injuries are often associated with the Achilles tendon, the Eagles will likely want to air on the side of caution when it comes to Carter’s availability on Thursday night. That is unless they feel entirely certain that Carter’s risk of potentially making his current injury even worse by playing in the game is minimal.
If Carter is unable to go, we have seen just how much of an impact Carter’s absence leaves on the Philadelphia defense. After being ejected from the team’s first game of the season for spitting on Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, the Eagles allowed 20 first-half points to the Cowboys without Carter, before finally tightening up on the defensive side of the ball in the second half and coming away with a 24-20 victory.
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