What happened to Miles Sanders? Eagles place RB on injured reserve

Miles Sanders is having a difficult season with new head coach Nick Sirianni diminishing the running back's use in the Philadelphia Eagles offense. Even when he's healthy, his usage has been minimal, with Sirianni giving a lot of playing time to fifth-round rookie Kenneth Gainwell.

Sanders barely played in the first half of the season. Now, he'll not play at all, at least for the next three weeks. Head coach Nick Sirianni told reporters on Friday that the Eagles are placing the running back on injured reserve because of an ankle injury he suffered against the Las Vegas Raiders on Week 7.

What happened to Miles Sanders?

When it looked like Sanders was finally a bigger part of the Eagles' offensive gameplan, the running back sprained his ankle during the Week 7 game against the Las Vegas Raiders and did not return to the game.

While sprained ankle injuries always look worse than they are, the recovery time means the running back will miss somewhere between four to six weeks. The Eagles can activate Sanders back on the active roster after three weeks on injured reserve, but it does not look like he'll be ready by then, except for a faster comeback than expected.

Even with his low usage, Sanders was the best back on the Eagles roster by some margin. He had 4.8 yards per carry during the first seven weeks, one of the best numbers in the entire NFL. Perhaps Philadelphia's offense wouldn't have looked so uninspiring if they had given him more rushing opportunities.

Should the Eagles panic about his injury or just look for in-house options?

As a 2-5 team with slim playoff chances, the Eagles shouldn't be looking for any outside replacements, let alone trade for someone before the November 2 trade deadline.

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Philadelphia are excited about fifth-round rookie Kenneth Gainwell and he's been taking a lot of snaps from Sanders. Now that the starter is out, Gainwell has the perfect opportunity to show his worth; he might even make Sanders expendable as he grows into the RB1 role.

Gainwell is a Memphis alumni who also has a great yards per carry average of 4.6, plus two rushing touchdowns and another receiving. Last week, his 51% snap share was his highest on the season, and he delivered in his limited touches. It's up to the rookie to take over from where Sanders left off and inject life into the Eagles' backfield.