NFL
Why isn’t Devin White playing for the Eagles in season opener against the Packers in Brazil?
One of Philly’s defensive stalwarts will miss the team’s Week 1 game against the Packers in Brazil, making an already complicated injury situation worse.
Regardless of who wins, the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers will make history when they play the NFL’s first-ever game in Brazil on Friday night. Sadly, one of Philly’s key defensive players won’t be there to see it.
Devin White won’t face the Packers
When the Philadelphia Eagles released an estimated injury report on Wednesday, hours before the team’s nine-and-a-half-hour flight to Brazil, one of the names that stood out was that of linebacker, Devin White. Indeed, having suffered an ankle injury in training White was ruled out of the season opener on Friday and subsequently did not even travel with the team to São Paulo. Needless to say, it was a loss for a team that will be hoping to start its campaign strongly having significantly bolstered its offense with the addition of star running back Saquon Barkley.
To make matters worse, White now joins cornerback Isaiah Rodgers was officially ruled out on Thursday, meaning the defense is even more short-handed than initially presumed. Truthfully, the Eagles’ injury report does not make for pleasant reading which is to say, it will be interesting to see how the team compensates for the losses. Where White specifically is concerned, we can expect to see the Eagles turning to Nakobe Dean for cover though it wouldn’t be surprising to see free agent signee Zack Baun and rookie Jeremiah Trotter Jr. being used as well.
White, of course, joined Philadelphia during the last free agency after failing to negotiate an extension with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the team that selected him with the No. 5 overall pick out of LSU in the 2019 NFL Draft. A Pro Bowler in his third season, the 26-year-old had a solid campaign in 2023, playing in a total of 14 games for the Bucs. Across that span, White recorded 83 tackles, nine quarterback hits, five tackles for loss, six pass deflections, and two interceptions. Though he won’t be present, we imagine White will be rooting for his team when the game kicks off at 8:15 p.m. ET at the Neo Quimica Arena in São Paulo, Brazil on Friday night.