The Philadelphia Eagles begin their NFC title defense on the road against the NFC South champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers. However, they will not have one of their best players in the lineup due to injury. On Saturday, CBS Sports Lead NFL Insider Jonathan Jones reported that wide receiver A.J. Brown will be ruled out for the Monday night showdown vs. the Bucs due to his sprained knee.
Brown injured his knee in the regular-season finale against the New York Giants, and missed practice on both Thursday and Friday. ESPN reports that Brown worked hard in his rehab to make it back this week, but just isn’t healthy enough to play. If the Eagles defeat the Buccaneers, Brown could return for the divisional round.
Brown is Philly’s leading receiver with 1,456 yards and seven touchdowns on what was a career-high 106 receptions. His 1,456 receiving yards ranked No. 5 in the NFL. Brown got off to a hot start with six receiving touchdowns in the first nine games of the season, but has visited the end zone just once over the last eight contests.
Several notable Eagles are managing injuries. Star quarterback Jalen Hurts is dealing with a finger injury that had him as a limited participant in practice on Thursday, but he returned to full participation on Friday. While Brown will miss Monday, expect wide receiver DeVonta Smith to make his return to the lineup after missing Week 18 with an ankle injury. He was a full participant in practice on both Thursday and Friday.
