On Monday, Wendell Smallwood will have to be good with shouldering the load. Ryan Mathews has been ruled out with an MCL sprain and Sproles is dealing with a fractured seventh rib.
That means Smallwood, the fifth-round pick, will likely be the Eagles’ lead running back on Monday night against the Packers.
“Yeah, he is (ready),” Sproles said of Smallwood. “He’s getting everything quick. The main thing is the protection and stuff like that, but he picks that up fast, though.”
In the last two weeks, Smallwood has picked up 26 of his 57 career carries. He had 13 against Atlanta and 13 against Seattle. The only other time he had that type of workload was against Pittsburgh, when he carried the ball 17 times. On the season, Smallwood had 57 carries for 253 yards. He’s the first Eagles rookie to go over 250 yards rushing since LeSean McCoy in 2009.
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