PHILADELPHIA (973espn.com) - The Eagles were clearly crossing their fingers when it came to safety Rodney McLeod and came out on the other end with the worst-case scenario.

The Eagles starting safety opposite Malcolm Jenkins is out for the season with a torn MCL, suffered in last Sunday's win over the Indianapolis Colts, according to NBCSports Philadelphia's Derrick Gunn.

Turns out that McLeod was done in for 2018 by friendly fire when he and teammate Jalen Mills were both trying to corral Colts running back Nyheim Hines in the third quarter and McLeod's right knee collided with Mills' helmet.

Coach Doug Pederson has begged off providing an update on McLeod's status on both Monday and Wednesday this week while waiting for further tests.

That was an indication that the Eagles were waiting for the swelling to go down in McLeod's knee in hopes a finding a bone bruise. Instead, it was s torn ligament and McLeod underwent surgery this morning.

The next man up for Philadelphia is 33-year-old veteran Corey Graham, who has been a valuable piece of the defense as a sub-package player but might have a difficult time becoming an every-down player at this stage of his career. The Eagles also have Deiondre' Hall, who was acquired from Chicago earlier this month and could elevate Tre Sullivan from the practice squad.

"We'll have a Plan B," defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz said. "That does not just go for Rodney. That's sort of everybody. We'll have a plan for everybody if they can't play."

Another in-house option could be moving cornerback Rasul Douglas back to safety although the West Virginia product has yet to work there. Others have speculated the physical Mills could step back with Sidney Jones moving to outside corner and then mixing and matching in the nickel.

Outside the organization, the perceived top safety on the street, Eric Reid, signed with Carolina on Thursday.

"We've got a roomful of versatile people that can play multiple positions," Jenkins said. "We have a lot of different packages that we can put use so we will figure something out."

Pederson knew it was likely he would be without McLeod this Sunday in Tennessee and claimed the Eagles were comfortable with their short-term options at least.

"We'll see how it unfolds this week," the coach said. "Obviously, I'm not going to get into the depth chart and the plan back there. We do have a plan for it. We like where we're at and we like our options."

-John McMullen covers the Eagles and the NFL for 973espn.com. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen

 

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