The Eagles placed wideout Mike Wallace on injured reserve Wednesday after he suffered a broken fibula in Week 2, but the veteran pass-catcher is optimistic he can make a 2018 return, according to Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (Twitter link). “As long as I’m healthy, I know they’ll bring me back in,” Wallace said.
A broken fibula generally heals in roughly six weeks, so there’s every reason to think Wallace would come back this season. Because he’s on injured reserve, Wallace must miss at least eight games before returning, so he should have ample time to recover. If the Eagles designate Wallace as one of their IR/return players, he can begin practicing in six weeks. Once Wallace returns to practice, Philadelphia would get a three-week window during which it could activate him.
Wallace, 32, inked a one-year, $1.915MM deal with the Eagles this spring in order to replace Torrey Smith as the club’s deep threat. After posting 52 receptions for 748 yards and four touchdowns with the Ravens in 2017, Wallace managed just three targets and zero catches for Philadelphia before going down.
With Wallace down, the Eagles are relying on Nelson Agholor, Kamar Aiken, Shelton Gibson, and the recently-signed Jordan Matthews as their wideouts. Alshon Jeffery, still working his way back from offseason shoulder surgery, returned to a limited practice this week.