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 appears to be a lock to play.
“It was going to be a stretch for A.J. to play,” coach Nick Sirianni told ESPN.com on Saturday. “He did everything he could to prepare himself. He fought tirelessly to accomplish everything he could.”
ESPN’s Adam Schefter broke the news that Brown would not play. According to Schefter, “Brown has made enough progress that, if the Eagles advance, he could return for the divisional playoff.” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported the same.
On the Saturday morning episode of SportsCenter, ESPN’s Fowler reported that Hurts is increasing his throwing after being limited in practice on Thursday.
“Jalen is hurt here; his finger is dislocated. He’s gradually increasing his throwing, having thrown a little more yesterday after a light week in the first few days of practice. I’m told he’s definitely playing. It’s just a matter of how they deal with the discomfort on their finger. Can he deliver the ball the way he should and wants to? They believe he will arrive by Monday night.”
According to ESPN.com, Hurts is scheduled to play, and Sirianni provided an update on the Eagles’ starting quarterback:
“Everyone is going to be fighting through things,” Sirianni explained. “He’s fighting through his finger injury. “But he had a good practice [Friday],” according to ESPN.
Brown injured his knee in the first quarter of last week’s loss to the New York Giants. He did not return to play in that game and has missed practice on Thursday and Friday.
Aside from the injury, the 26-year-old has had an interesting week. He deactivated his X account, which was previously known as Twitter, and cleared his Instagram page of all Eagles-related content.
During Philadelphia’s Week 18 loss to the Giants, Hurts suffered a severe injury to his throwing hand’s middle finger. He said after the game that his finger “popped out,” but he’s taking things “day by day” as the team prepares for its NFC Wild Card game against the Buccaneers.
Hurts’ injury was yet another setback for an Eagles team that had a rough end to the 2023 season. Philadelphia was in contention for the No. 1 seed in the NFC after starting 10-1, but the team went 1-5 over its last six games and dropped to the No. 5 seed.
In addition to Hurts’ finger injury, several key players were sidelined following the game against the Giants. Safety Reed Blankenship (groin) and guard-backup center Cam Jurgen (eye) were both taken out of the game in the second half.
DeVonta Smith, who missed the Giants’ game due to an ankle injury, has participated fully in practice this week.
Hurts was once considered an MVP candidate, but he finished the season with 3,858 yards, 23 touchdowns, and a career-high 15 interceptions. He also rushed for 605 yards and 15 touchdowns, which was a career high.
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