Eagles Today

Eagles Focus on Maintenance, Fundamentals in First Bye-Week Practice

Being the No. 1 seed has its privileges and the Eagles want to take advantage of them, as some players took it easy while Josh Sweat returned

John McMullen

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PHILADELPHIA - True to his word, Eagles coach Nick Sirianni went to more of an OTA environment, albeit with pads, with a lot of fundamental work for younger players during the first bye-week practice of the postseason.

All eyes were on some of the Eagles' players dealing with injuries and there was some good and bad to that.

Quarterback Jalen Hurts and the sprained SC joint in his throwing shoulder, took it easy on Thursday, running through some drills but skipping ball-security drills and scaling back when it came to throwing the football.

"That’s the point of the bye week, to kind of have some time off," Hurts said. "Obviously, we would have loved to have (clinched) it a little sooner. But we got it done last week, and it was what it was. And I think we got a lot of guys that need that time, so we can be ready to play our best ball when we need it."

Josh Sweat returned to practice after missing Week 18 with a neck injury while right tackle Lane Johnson was working with trainers off to the side as the offensive line.

All are expected to play in the divisional round where the Eagles could play one of four opponents depending on what happens on wild-card weekend - Seattle, the New York Giants, Dallas, or Tampa Bay.

Receiver A.J. Brown, who set a franchise record with 1.496 receiving yards on 88 receptions, was given a maintenance day to rest up his body due to the wear and tear of the season.

Also, punter Arryn Siposs, who was thought to be lost for the season after what was described as a significant leg injury on Dec. 11 at the Giants gave a promising update on his status.

The Aussie punter suffered a high-ankle sprain and a deltoid ligament injury but avoided surgery and just ditched his walking boot this week.

If the Eagles reach the NFC Championship Game and the Super Bowl, Siposs believes he could be back to help.

"I thought the season was definitely over but after a couple of second opinions it went well and it's giving me a chance to get back in," Siposs said. "As I said, keep building that strength up in there and feel good about it all and then take care of business."

-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's Eagles Today and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Football 24/7 and a daily contributor to ESPN South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen

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John McMullen
JOHN MCMULLEN

John McMullen is a veteran reporter who has covered the NFL for over two decades. The current NFL insider for JAKIB Media, John is the former NFL Editor for The Sports Network where his syndicated column was featured in over 200 outlets including the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, and Miami Herald. He was also the national NFL columnist for Today's Pigskin as well as FanRag Sports. McMullen has covered the Eagles on a daily basis since 2016, first for ESPN South Jersey and now for Eagles Today on SI.com's FanNation. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube.com. John is also the host of his own show "Extending the Play" on AM1490 in South Jersey and part of 6ABC.com's live postgame show after every Eagles game. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen

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