The Eagles decided to play it safe with Brown’s hamstring injury.
Just ahead of the Eagles Monday night kickoff against the Falcons, NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reported that it was his understanding that A.J. Brown was iffy coming into the game, and while the team could have maybe pushed him to play, they decided it wasn’t worth risking it this early in the season. He also notes that they didn’t place Brown on IR signaling the expectation that this is a short-term situation.
From @NFLGameDay Kickoff: The hope is #Eagles WR A.J. Brown’s absence is a very short one. In the meantime, Jahan Dotson should get increased looks. pic.twitter.com/TMQ4rjWfle
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) September 17, 2024
The ESPN broadcast caught up with Brown on the sideline shortly afterward, who said it was just a freak thing that happened Friday — he was running around and his hamstring tightened up. He didn’t consider the injury anything serious, but admitted he’ll probably be out a couple weeks.
Brown was walking around on the field during warmups and seemed in good spirits. The WR didn’t have any noticeable issues getting around, which was great to see. It’s never good to be without Brown, but not letting a minor hamstring injury become a much bigger deal was probably the right move.
With Brown out, Garafolo noted that while Jahan Dotson didn’t have a catch in Week 1, coaches were impressed with his route running and the ball just didn’t get to him in the progression. Dotson is someone who is expected to have a bigger role on Monday night.
