PHILADELPHIA — Quinyon Mitchell was on his way to establishing himself as one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL. But Mitchell’s All-Pro push hit a road bump last week.
Mitchell suffered a hamstring injury in the Eagles’ loss to the Giants last Thursday. He exited the game in the first half, was deemed questionable to return and was later downgraded to out.
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Now, Mitchell’s status is up in the air for Sunday’s Week 7 game against the Minnesota Vikings.
Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio was asked at his Tuesday press conference if Mitchell will be available to play this weekend. His response?
“That remains to be seen.”
Some might think Fangio is being coy. But the 67-year-old play-caller is as much of a straight shooter as there is in the coaching world. Mitchell’s status will have to be monitored this week.
It’s unfortunate timing for Mitchell, who had been playing well in his second season. The 2024 first-round pick was growing into his own as a shadow corner, traveling with static outside wide receivers and mostly locking them down.
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Mitchell shadowed wide receiver Davante Adams in the Eagles’ Week 3 win over the Rams, holding the future Hall of Famer to two catches for 12 yards on five targets.
Mitchell was then named the NFC Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts vs. the Buccaneers. Mitchell logged five breakups and held Emeka Egbuka to two receptions for six yards in Week 4.
Mitchell’s Week 5 performance was up and down. He locked down Denver’s Courtland Sutton through three quarters, only to allow three crucial catches for 49 yards in the fourth quarter.
But on the whole, Mitchell has been reliable. And without him, the Eagles would enter a nightmare scenario — depending on two corners who are extremely unreliable.
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Fangio said Tuesday that Adoree’ Jackson is in line to start at the CB2 spot ahead of Kelee Ringo, who was benched against the Giants. Neither have impressed so far this season.
When Mitchell went out with the hamstring injury vs. New York, it was Jackson and Ringo manning the outside corner spots. They got torched by WanDale Robinson, Lil’ Jordan Humphrey and a Giants receiving crew without superstar Malik Nabers.
“You guys know who we’ve got,” Fangio said, when asked what the plan will be if they don’t have Mitchell. “It’ll be like it was the other night.”
There’s a chance Cooper DeJean is moved from the slot to the outside. But if it’s Jackson and Ringo against the Vikings’ Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison, it probably won’t be a pretty sight — or a good result for an Eagles team that has lost two in a row.
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