The Philadelphia Eagles will be without their top wide receiver A.J. Brown for Monday’s playoff game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but Jalen Hurts looks like a safe bet to play.
“It was going to be a stretch for A.J. to play,” coach Nick Sirianni said Saturday, per ESPN.com. “He did everything he possibly could to get himself ready. He fought like crazy to try and do everything he could do.”
ESPN’s Adam Schefter was first to report Brown would not play. Schefter, citing sources, also reported that “Brown has made enough progress that, if the Eagles advance, he could return for the divisional playoff.” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported the same:
Jeremy Fowler @JFowlerESPN
Source on Brown: “He wants to fully heal as much as he can and give it a go next week.” https://t.co/4W9tFsULFK
On the Saturday morning episode of SportsCenter, ESPN’s Fowler noted Hurts is ramping up his throwing after being limited in practice on Thursday:
“Jalen Hurts here, dislocated finger. He’s transitioning into more throwing, threw a little bit more yesterday after a light week early in the first few days of practice. I’m told he is surely playing, there’s really no doubt about that. It’s just a matter of how they manage that discomfort on the finger. Can he deliver the ball the way that he needs to and wants to? They believe that by Monday night he will.”
ESPN.com noted Hurts is scheduled to play as Sirianni provided an update on the Eagles’ start quarterback:
“Everyone’s going to be fighting through things,” Sirianni said. “He’s fighting through the finger injury. But he had a good practice [Friday],” per ESPN.com.
Brown suffered a knee injury in the first quarter of last week’s loss to the New York Giants. He didn’t return to play in that game and has sat out practice on Thursday and Friday.
The 26-year-old has had an interesting week, in addition to the injury. He deactivated his X account, formerly known as Twitter, and wiped his Instagram page of all Eagles-related references.
Hurts suffered a gruesome injury to the middle finger on his throwing hand during Philadelphia’s Week 18 loss to the Giants. He said after the game that his finger “popped out” but he’s taking things “day by day” ahead of the team’s NFC Wild Card game against the Buccaneers.
Hurts’ injury was yet another tough blow to an Eagles team that had a rough finish to the 2023 season. Philadelphia was in the driver’s seat for the No. 1 seed in the NFC after starting with a 10-1 record, but the team went 1-5 over its last six games and fell to the No. 5 seed.
In addition to Hurts’ finger injury, multiple key players were left ailing following the game against the Giants. Safety Reed Blankenship (groin) and guard-backup center Cam Jurgen (eye) were also removed from the game in the second half.
DeVonta Smith, who missed the Giants game due to an ankle injury, has been a full practice participant this week.
Hurts once looked like an MVP candidate, but he finished the season with 3,858 yards, 23 touchdowns and a career-high 15 interceptions. He added 605 rushing yards and a career-high 15 rushing touchdowns.
The Eagles certainly need Hurts to play against the Buccaneers, especially since they don’t have Brown on the outside, as he gives them the best chance of making it to a second straight Super Bowl.
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