The Philadelphia Eagles will be without No. 1 wide receiver A.J. Brown for the second consecutive week.
Despite head coach Nick Sirianni offering up hope, Brown was unable to suit up for any of the Eagles' practices and was ruled out for Sunday's Week 3 game at the New Orleans Saints with a hamstring injury.
Prior to Friday's practice, Sirianni met with reporters and seemed to strike a different chord: “We’ve got some time," he said of Brown. "We’ve got today, we’ve got a little bit of (Saturday), and obviously Sunday before we have to make that decision. I know he’s working his butt off to try to get back.”
ESPN’s Lisa Salters reported during the MNF broadcast that Brown expects to miss “a couple of weeks.” The injury has been labeled “hamstring tightness,” which would indicate a less severe situation than a pulled or strained muscle.
Nick Sirianni says it’s “too early to tell” if AJ Brown will play vs. #Saints. He says the team is making 2 game plans for if he does play, and if he doesn’t play.#Eagles pic.twitter.com/AjTJbzyrKv
— Eagles Nation (@PHLEaglesNation) September 18, 2024
With Brown out of the lineup, five Eagles wide receivers played at least 15 snaps in the Falcons game. The issue was that three of those five receivers produced next to nothing in the passing game.
Jahan Dotson turned his 57 snaps into one catch for 6 yards, but that lone reception was caught behind the line of scrimmage. Dotson wasn’t targeted on any of his actual routes Monday. Rookie Johnny Wilson was active for the game, but his most memorable play was a holding penalty deep in Falcons territory. Veteran Parris Campbell got called up from the practice squad pregame and was out there, you just wouldn’t know it.
The passing game ran exclusively through DeVonta Smith, who was on the field for every offensive snap. Playing more exclusively on the outside with Brown sidelined, Smith caught seven of his 10 targets for 76 yards in a touchdown. Also notable was return specialist Britain Covey, who in 24 snaps matched his career reception total entering the night with six grabs for 23 yards. His night would have been even bigger had two additional catches not been called back by ineligible man downfield penalties.
Sirianni said the team needs to get tight end Dallas Goedert more involved. He has just seven catches for 69 scoreless yards through two games.
Safety C.J.Gardner-Johnson (foot) is listed as questionable for the Saints game. Rookie wide receiver Johnny Wilson (hamstring) is good to go after practicing in full Friday.
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