Nick Sirianni may have tipped his hand in discussing Mukuba’s injury

The Eagles' Week 12 debacle won't be remembered fondly, not now and not one year from now. A 24-21 collapseby the Philadelphia Eagles vs. the Dallas Cowboys felt like a gut-punch, but now it's time to transition.

It's easy to marvel at the professionalism of these guys. Their ability to compartmentalize this level of disappointment is otherworldly.

As quickly as one game ends, another approaches. Buckle up. The Eagles are scheduled to play their first-ever match on Black Friday, but as you may have heard, they'll be short-staffed in the secondary.

Nick Sirianni's Andrew Mukuba update may have offered more than he bargained for.

"Yeah, you guys saw the report. He'll be out for some time, for a little bit. I'll never put a timetable on a guy. We'll see how long. He'll miss a little bit of time, but we'll see how long."

That was the expected answer given by Nick Sirianni when asked about Andrew Mukuba's status during a chat with the media on Monday. Three starters left Week 12's game with an injury: Drew Mukuba, Adoree' Jackson, and Reed Blankenship.

As Coach Sirianni continued his thought, he may have given us the indication that Blankenship's injury isn't concerning. He also mentioned Michael Carter, unprompted, perhaps suggesting a larger role is on the way in light of the roster's shakeup.

"I think we have good options [at safety/in the secondary]. (Michael Carter II) being one of them. Sydney (Brown). Reed (Blankenship)'s still back there, manning everything back there. And we have confidence in some guys on the practice squad as well. This is why you need your entire roster. It's never just the 53 guys. It's the 70 guys. You never know when those guys' opportunity will come. And here we are."

We've seen Cooper DeJean play safety in base sets, mostly in practice. We know defensive coordinator Vic Fangio likes him in the slot. Might he slide back in five DB sets to allow more room for Michael Carter II? Might Carter do the same to enable DeJean to stay put? It seems Fangio would rather move one guy than two.

Sydney Brown is back in the spotlight, and mentioning Blankenship seems like good news. We'd lean toward stating that seeing Coach Sirianni use his name casually, without a disclaimer, is a sign that his thigh issue isn't serious. Fingers are crossed that he can play on Friday, but we'll see. As Coach would say, 'You guys will get an injury report later today.'

Sirianni usually holds cards close to the vest, so we try to find easter eggs wherever we can. Maybe this is one. We won't know for some time, but it could be something to monitor. A big game approaches, and if the Eagles aren't at full strength, how they align and adjust will be key. No worries, though. Vic Fangio has got this covered.

This article originally appeared on Eagles Wire: Nick Sirianni may have tipped his hand in discussing Mukuba’s injury