Earlier on Saturday, it was revealed that Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown would not play in his team’s Wild Card Round matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.
Brown is dealing with a knee injury during his team’s loss to the New York Giants in Week 18.
While addressing reporters, Sirianni spoke about his decision to sit Brown for next week.
“It was going to be a stretch for A.J. to play,” Sirianni said, via Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. “He did everything he possibly could to get himself ready. Obviously, you all saw the reports. It’s not looking like he’s going to go, but he fought like crazy to try to 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 did not practice all week, but up until Saturday, his status against the Buccaneers was up in the air. Obviously, the Eagles did not feel Brown would be healthy enough to take the field.
So, did Sirianni make a mistake in even playing Brown against the Giants?
“At that time, I did what I thought was best for the team, and I’ll stick by that,” Sirianni said. “And so, I don’t regret — am I upset that A.J. is not playing because he got dinged in that game? Of course, I am. But no, I don’t second guess that decision.”
To be fair to Sirianni, the NFC East division title was still on the table for Philadelphia at the time. If Philly would have beaten New York and the Dallas Cowboys would have lost to the Washington Commanders, the Eagles would have won the division crown. So, it does make sense that Nick Sirianni opted to play Brown.
Brown hauled in 106 receptions for 1,456 yards and seven touchdowns en route to his third Pro Bowl selection this season.
This will mark the first time A.J. Brown has missed a game as a member of the Eagles. Philadelphia acquired him via trade with the Tennessee Titans in April 2022.
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