Eagles Expected To Get Double Dose Of Safeties Back After Bye Week

The Eagles have a pair of safeties right under their nose who could return sooner rather than later.

Eagles safeties Sydney Brown and Caden Sterns watch practice as they continue to rehab knee injuries, though their return could happen after the tea'ms bye week. / Ed Kracz/Eagles on SI

PHILADELPHIA – Outsiders may think the Eagles have a safety issue. Not the Eagles, and here’s why - they may be getting not one but two back after their early bye week.

A source said that Sydney Brown will be activated after the four games he is required to miss because he began the season on Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list and that Caden Sterns could also be ready to return by then, too.

The Eagles have an early bye, coming in Week 5 on Oct. 6.

That means Brown and maybe Sterns could be back for the Eagles’ home game against the Cleveland Browns on Oct. 13. Two weeks after that, the Eagles play the Cincinnati Bengals, who have Sydney’s twin brother Chase Brown playing running back.

You know the Browns both have that one circled.

Brown is certainly ready to return. He has reached all the benchmarks needed, but the Eagles are taking it slowly with him, and for good reason.

They are extremely high on last year’s third-round pick after a rookie season that revealed glimpses of a player who can be a standout in this league, including an electric 99-yard interception return against the Arizona Cardinals on New Year’s Eve.

Eagles Sydney Brown / Ed Kracz/Eagles on SI

The slow route to a return is also being charted because Brown tore his ACL on Jan. 7. Typically, it takes eight months to return from such an injury. An extra month to be extra sure is the right path to take, even though Brown is no doubt chomping at the bit to return.

Sterns' situation is trickier. He suffered a severe knee injury in last year’s opener with the Denver Broncos, tearing his patella tendon. The Broncos cut him and, after being picked up quickly by the Carolina Panthers, he failed his physical.

The Eagles signed him, thanks in part to defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, who was Sterns’ head coach for a time in Denver, and stashed him on the practice squad, allowing him time to heal and rehab.

“Players come back from patella injuries, especially with the rehab and stuff we have,” said Sterns before the Eagles’ Labor Day practice. “But it’s been a thing in my career. If I get healthy, I’ll be all right. I’m not worried about how I will play on the field. I think that speaks for itself when I have played.”

Sterns had four interception in the first 20 games of his NFL career after being taken in the firth round back in 2021, the 152nd player taken overall. The Eagles took running back Kenny Gainwell at No. 150 in the same draft.

The safety said he is close to being fully healthy and ready to return, though he didn’t give a timetable.

“Getting healthy has been my priority and I’m just grateful the Eagles brought me in,” he said. “There’s a great training staff here and it’s a great organization. They’re taking a chance on me.”

If Brown and Sterns are both ready after the bye week, the Eagles would have moves to make to add them to the 53-man roster.

More NFL: Eagles Darius Slay Gives Entertaining Answer When Asked If Rookie Was Ready For Debut