Eagles' Wendell Smallwood: Officially questionable for Thursday

Eagles head coach Doug Pederson said that Smallwood (knee) is questionable to play Thursday against the Panthers, with the running back's status likely coming down to a game-time decision, Zach Berman of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Smallwood wasn't able to practice last week nor Monday or Tuesday, which seemed to suggest that he wouldn't be an option Thursday night given his lack of recent on-field involvement. Pederson's comments offer a little more optimism about Smallwood's status, but the second-year player will probably need to demonstrate significant improvement with his recovery from the inflamed right knee in the hours leading up to the contest to have a legitimate shot at suiting up. The Eagles were able to manage just fine without Smallwood in their Week 5 victory over the Cardinals while leaning on a backfield committee of LeGarrette Blount, Corey Clement and Kenjon Barner, so if Smallwood is experiencing any complications ahead of Thursday's game, expect the team to err on the side of caution and hold him out.