Eagles receiver A.J. Brown has been ruled out for Monday’s wild card game against the Buccaneers in Tampa.
This is obviously a big loss for the Eagles entering the playoffs. Brown has missed practice all week with a knee injury.
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"It was going to be a stretch for A.J. to play," head coach Nick Sirianni said. "He did everything he possibly could to get himself ready. Obviously, y'all saw the reports. It's not looking like he's going to go. But he fought like crazy to try do everything he could do to do so, which doesn't surprise me at all about A.J. He's tough and he'd do anything for his teammates. Unfortunately, he won't be able to rip it this week."
Brown, 26, injured his knee in the Week 18 game against the Giants at MetLife Stadium and had to leave the game. Even though this injury isn’t a serious one, he won’t be ready for Monday night.
There is a hope, however, that if the Eagles advance to the divisional round, Brown will be able to play. But first the Eagles will have to get there. Their top receivers going into this weekend's 4-5 matchup will be DeVonta Smith, Julio Jones, Quez Watkins and Olamide Zaccheaus.
Brown this season put up another big year. He had 106 catches for 1,456 yards and 7 touchdowns. He was named a Pro Bowler and a second-team All-Pro.
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The good injury news out of the NovaCare Complex this week came on Thursday when quarterback Jalen Hurts was able to throw the football well in practice. Hurts injured his right middle finger in Week 18 and admitted he shouldn’t have returned to that game.
After barely throwing in Wednesday’s practice, Hurts looked good throwing the ball on Thursday. Reporters saw that from Hurts during the portion of practice open to the media and his teammates corroborated that after practice.
The only big question entering Saturday’s practice is about the status of safety Reed Blankenship. The second-year starter has missed practice this week with a groin injury but did work on a side field Friday.
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