The Philadelphia Eagles are banged up heading into their Wild Card Round playoff matchup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but head coach Nick Sirianni is remaining optimistic.
Quarterback Jalen Hurts and wide receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith are all dealing with their own respective injuries. Hurts suffered a gruesome dislocated finger against the New York Giants this past Sunday, and Brown left the game with a knee injury. Meanwhile, Smith was absent in the season finale due to an ankle issue.
However, Sirianni said that he is “hopeful” that everyone will be available against the Buccaneers next Monday, via Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk.
Of course, just because Sirianni hopes it will be on all hands on deck situation does not necessarily mean it will play out that way.
Fortunately, X-rays on Hurts’ injured middle finger were negative, and Hurts said that he is taking it day by day. Sirianni said he expects Hurts to be “sore” but that that the signal-caller will do whatever he can to make sure he can take the field in Tampa.
Brown’s injury looked serious at first, but he avoided an ACL tear. Even if there is no structural damage, you have to imagine he will not be 100 percent if he plays against the Bucs.
Meanwhile, Smith did not participate against the Giants, but that could simply be chalked up to a precautionary measure on the part of the Eagles. He injured his ankle during Philadelphia’s Week 17 loss to the Arizona Cardinals.
Philly ended its season by losing five of its last six games to fall to 11-6 and drop out of first place in the NFC East. Throw some injuries to key players on top of that, and things are not exactly looking to good for the Eagles heading into the playoffs.
All of that being said, Nick Sirianni’s club is the defending conference champion, so we probably shouldn’t write off the Eagles until they are actually eliminated.
Want the latest NFL analysis, breaking news, and insider information? Click here. Interested in reading storylines and analysis about the NBA? Check out our partner NBA Analysis Network.
