Eagles Offense At The Mercy Of The Injury Report

If A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith can’t play in Tampa this weekend, it will be tough-sledding for the Philadelphia offense.

The Eagles could be without their three most productive receivers in Tampa this weekend.  With an early bye week looming after Sunday’s game with the Buccaneers Philadelphia may play it cautious with the All-Pro receiver A.J. Brown, who has missed the previous two games with a hamstring injury.  The only public acknowledgment of Brown to date on his hamstring issue is his “couple of weeks” prognostication to Lisa Salters, which could mean a potential return for Tampa Bay, something the Eagles could desperately use.

In general, the Philadelphia offense is not the same without Brown on the field, something that was highlighted the last time the Eagles were in Tampa back in January for an ugly 32-9 loss to the Bucs in the wild-card round of the playoffs.  The need to get Brown back is complicated by the fact that his running mate DeVonta Smith is in the concussion protocol after taking a big hit during the Eagles’ 15-12 win in New Orleans this past Sunday.

Also lost in that game with a shoulder injury was receiver Britain Covey, who was placed on injured reserve Tuesday.   The Eagles have plenty of bodies to man the WR position with Jahan Dotson and rookie Johnny Wilson on the 53-man roster plus a host of options on the practice squad led by veterans Parris Campbell, who was elevated against the Saints, and John Ross, who was brought back to the PS Tuesday.

Also on the practice squad are less-proven options like Danny Gray, a third-round pick of San Francisco in the 2022 draft, third-year player Kyle Phillips, a more shifty player in the mold of Covey, and undrafted rookie Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint.

The sheer numbers at WR mean that Nick Sirianni and Kellen Moore will have enough to play as much 11 personnel deemed necessary even in the worst-case scenario of missing Brown, Smith, and the already ruled-out Covey.  The bigger question is are you getting any efficacy from a lineup where Dotson, who is still learning the offense as a late-summer trade pickup from Washington, as the de facto WR1, Campbell likely elevated as the WR2, and Wilson handling the dirty work when it comes to blocking and perhaps being a red-zone threat?

The real answer in such a scenario is leaning on current NFL rushing leader Saquon Barkley and more 12 personnel with Grant Calcaterra and Jack Stoll, who was promoted back to the 53-man roster on Tuesday, supplementing Dallas Goedert, who is coming off a career-best 170 receiving yards against the Saints, at tight end.

The end game with any of those paths is perseverance with the expected high-flying explosive offensive impact for Philadelphia in a holding pattern until the returns of Brown and Smith.