A new mystery started gripping the Eagles ahead of their NFC East showdown against the Commanders. Star wideout A.J. Brown was marked as a “limited participant” during Thursday’s practice, igniting questions about his availability for Sunday’s game.
Brown popped off for 110 yards on eight receptions last week after a media-fueled controversy regarding his relationship with Jalen Hurts. Any sort of dysfunction was proven moot. There was never an issue. However, Brown’s status for Week 16 has suddenly turned into a major storyline for the Eagles as he’s dealing with a new knee injury.
Will he or won’t he play? Everyone wants to know.
“I’m playing,” Brown told reporters, via ESPN’s Tim McManus, flashing a wry smile and pausing for dramatic effect.
When asked exactly how he injured his knee, Brown said: “I don’t know … I was fine after the game, and fine the day after that … you know, it just kind of comes with the game, just over a period of time, stuff like that starts to happen but you find a way to get through it and play through stuff.“
Before Friday’s practice — and prior to Brown addressing the media in the locker room — head coach Nick Sirianni kept his answers terse and cryptic so as not to set off the panic alarm.
“We’ll see. We’ll see how it goes when we get out there,” Sirianni told reporters, adding: “He was limited yesterday [Thursday].“
Reporters quickly noted Brown’s presence on the field in the portion of Friday’s practice open to the media. He was seen stretching and talking to Sirianni in a video posted by Andrew DiCecco, sparking eternal hope that he’ll be a full-go on Sunday.
The Eagles have officially released their injury report for Friday. Here are where these players stand heading into Sunday’s matchup:
Limited: WR A.J. Brown (knee/rest), G Landon Dickerson (knee/rest), DE Bryce Huff (wrist)
Full Participant: RB Saquon Barkley (rest), G Mekhi Becton (rest), S Sydney Brown (concussion), WR Britain Covey (neck), QB Jalen Hurts (left finger), T Lane Johnson (rest), C Cam Jurgens (rest), T Jordan Mailata (rest), WR DeVonta Smith (back/rest)
Meanwhile, Sirianni once again dodged questions about potential celebration plans this week. If the Eagles do indeed beat the Commanders, then the team will officially clinch the NFC East crown for the second time in three seasons. They would love to don the divisional championship caps but this is a business trip, first and foremost.
“We’re going about our business trying to win this football game,” Sirianni said. “We know what that means if we win this football game. But our goal is just to continue to get better each and every week, focus on the things we can control … we’ll congratulate each other when we have that opportunity to do so and then we’ll move on and get better.”
Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
