Back at Eagles practice, Jalen Carter plans to return from his heel injury and play against the Vikings

Olivia Reiner, The Philadelphia Inquirer on Oct 15, 2025

Published in Football

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PHILADELPHIA — The mini-bye week coming off the Eagles’ 34-17 loss to the New York Giants provided an opportunity for a few key players to get healthy.

Jalen Carter (heel) was a full participant in Wednesday’s practice, while Landon Dickerson (ankle) and Quinyon Mitchell (hamstring) were listed as limited participants on the injury report.

Neither Dickerson nor Carter played Thursday at MetLife Stadium. Mitchell was hurt toward the end of the first quarter, forcing Kelee Ringo back into action at cornerback after he had been benched in favor of Adoree’ Jackson earlier in the game.

After practice, Carter said in the locker room that he will play Sunday in the Eagles’ road matchup against the Minnesota Vikings.

The 24-year-old defensive tackle had popped up on the injury report the day before the Giants game with the heel injury. Carter said it “came out of nowhere” and that he was “very close” to playing in the game regardless.

However, after walking out of the tunnel to the MetLife Stadium field before warmups, he decided that he “felt like it wasn’t right.” He added that the decision not to play had nothing to do with the stadium’s infamous turf. Carter said it was particularly difficult to watch from the sideline as the Eagles fell to their division rivals.

“I missed it a lot, man,” Carter said. “Just being on the sidelines was never my thing. I never really miss games like that in my whole life, college and all. And then how the game went, you just want to be out there to help the guys and be an impact to the team. But I couldn’t do nothing at the time. We’re on to next week, this week, and thankfully, we play [the Giants] again next week.”

Taking the game off also gave Carter additional recovery time for his injured shoulder, an ailment he has been nursing since the offseason. Still, Thursday marked Carter’s first absence due to injury, having been ejected from the Week 1 game against the Dallas Cowboys for spitting on quarterback Dak Prescott before the first drive.

Carter said he “got some shots” to help manage the pain in his shoulder, which is “feeling better” overall.

“It’s like almost like I had a bye week,” Carter said. “I’m off, I didn’t play. Now I’m back this week, so I got more rest time, get settled. But I’m ready to play.”

Meanwhile, Dickerson’s return to practice is a step in the right direction for the Eagles left guard who has been hobbled by various injuries this season. He suffered his ankle injury early in the Eagles’ loss to the Denver Broncos in Week 5.

During training camp, Dickerson required meniscus surgery in his knee after he was carted off the sideline during the Eagles’ public practice at Lincoln Financial Field.

Dickerson has finished only three games this season — he also dropped out of the season opener against the Dallas Cowboys, having dealt with a back issue earlier that week.

“I thought he looked good,” left tackle Jordan Mailata said Wednesday of Dickerson’s performance in practice. “If you asked him, he might say something different. But, yeah, I thought Landon looked great.”

Additionally, linebacker Zack Baun (finger) and defensive tackle Jordan Davis (shoulder) were listed as full participants on the injury report. Grant Calcaterra (oblique) did not participate, but he was working with a trainer on a separate field. Like Carter and Dickerson, the 26-year-old tight end also missed Thursday’s game against the Giants.

Meanwhile in Minnesota, Carson Wentz (shoulder) was a full participant in Wednesday’s practice, while J.J. McCarthy (ankle) was limited. Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell hasn’t revealed which quarterback will start Sunday, acknowledging only that both players would take reps in practice.

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