Eagles Rule Out One Receiver, List Another As Questionable Vs. Bucs

The Eagles could be without both starting receivers, though one was listed as questionable for Week 4's game in Tampa, while RT Lane Johnson could play after he was also ruled questionable.

Eagles WR DeVonta Smith / Ed Kracz/Eagles on SI

PHILADELPHIA - There was a glimmer of good news on the Eagles’ Friday injury report – A.J. Brown and Lane Johnson were listed as questionable for Sunday’s Week 4 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Brown was on the practice field Friday for the first time since being shut down on Sept. 12, not a full week since the season opener against the Green Bay Packers. That’s progress. Whether it translates into being able to play against the Bucs, with a bye looming coming out of the game, remains to be seen.

Right tackle Lane Johnson is also listed as questionable. The Eagles’ record when he doesn’t play is 14-22 but Fred Johnson played reasonably well after Johnson left early in the win over the Saints, so again, maybe another week off would do him well.

The bad news is that DeVonta Smith was ruled out. the receiver will miss just his third regular-season game since being drafted 10th overall in 2021.

It took a questionable hit from Saints rookie Khristian Boyd to make it happen. Boyd rocked Smith in the back despite Smith’s forward progress being stopped. The refs never blew the whistle, so they are culpable in the injury as well. After Smith was prone on his back without a helmet, Saints defender Payton Turner jumped on Smith.

Boyd was fined a paltry sum of $4,600 by the NFL. Turner was not.

Several players commented on the “diry” play of New Orleans, including when offensive tackle Trevor Penning continued to block Darius Slay well out of bounds. There was a flag on that play but Slay left with a knee injury.

Thankfully for the Eagles’ secondary, the knee injury wasn’t serious, and the veteran cornerback will line up against the Bucs.

Eagles OT Lane Johnson mossed practice on July 29 with a toe injury. / John McMullen/Eagles on SI

The Eagles had the last laugh, beating the previously unbeaten Saints, 15-12. Still, it was a costly hit by Boyd, and then Turner piling on, that will force the Eagles to play without Smith.

If Brown can play with his hamstring injury, that would be a big boost for Jalen Hurts and the offense. The physical receiver has played only one game this season and missed the previous two. He had made 35 straight regular-season starts since being acquired in a trade with the Titans.

The Eagles are poised to elevate Parris Campbell from the practice squad, and, if Brown cannot play, they will likely elevate John Ross, who was added to the practice squad earlier in the week.

Perhaps there’s a chance that Ross gets elevated over Campbell if Brown plays because this would be the third and final practice squad elevation for Campbell, which means the Eagles would have to find a spot for him on the 53-man roster if they want to keep him beyond next week.

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