Eagles rule out A.J. Brown for Sunday; C.J. Gardner-Johnson questionable vs. Saints

The Eagles ruled wide receiver A.J. Brown out for Sunday against the New Orleans Saints and listed safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson as questionable on Friday’s injury report.

After missing practice all week with a hamstring injury suffered in the lead-up to the Eagles’ Week 2 game against the Atlanta Falcons Brown will be absent for consecutive games. The 27-year-old, who had five catches for 119 yards and a touchdown in the season-opener against the Green Bay Packers, injured his hamstring in practice the following week, according to coach Nick Sirianni.

The team listed rookie wideout Johnny Wilson as a full participant in practice after the former Florida State standout missed the game Monday with a hamstring injury as well.

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Sirianni said Gardner-Johnson “tweaked” his foot during the team’s walk-through on Wednesday, an injury that held him out of practice both Thursday and Friday. When asked about his status before practice Friday, Sirianni said the team would “see how today goes.”

Gardner-Johnson, who declined to speak with reporters following practice Friday, spent the first three years of his career with the Saints before unsuccessful contract negotiations led New Orleans to trade the former fourth-round pick to the Eagles before the 2022 season. The Eagles signed Gardner-Johnson this offseason to a three-year contract worth up to $33 million after losing him a year earlier to the Detroit Lions in free agency.

Acknowledging Gardner-Johnson plays with a heightened intensity and antagonism even in normal circumstances, Sirianni said he wouldn’t attempt to stifle any additional emotions for the safety if he’s able to play against his former team.

“My message always has been to him [that] I love his emotion,” Sirianni said. “I love his energy. You know, always use that. He’s got such an awesome personality; always use that personality to bring people together. So be yourself. Have fun out there. Show your emotion.”

If Gardner-Johnson can’t play, his absence will highlight the Eagles’ lack of safety depth behind him and Reed Blankenship. Avonte Maddox, who split time between slot cornerback and safety during training camp and was the starting nickel corner through the first two games, is the most likely replacement for Gardner-Johnson.

If the Eagles do move Maddox to safety, they’ll have several options to replace him at slot cornerback. While defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said Cooper DeJean was the “backup” nickel corner during his news conference, the team could also choose to move Quinyon Mitchell inside some of the time and play veteran corner Isaiah Rodgers in Mitchell’s current place. Mitchell spent most of training camp in a similar role, bumping inside when the defense came out in nickel packages while serving as the outside cornerback in the team’s base defense.

DeJean missed the start of his first training camp with a hamstring injury suffered in the offseason and was sidelined for a significant chunk of the summer as a result. Fangio said the coaching staff has pared down the second-round rookie’s role from playing multiple spots in the secondary to focusing exclusively on slot cornerback to get him on the field more quickly.

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“With all the time he’s lost, we’re going to focus him at nickel right now,” Fangio said. “[We’ll] see if he can make good enough progress there.”

Sirianni added, “He continues to impress as he’s out there as far as starting with his special-teams abilities. He made a really good play in special teams. You guys weren’t out there still, but [he] made a really good play in special teams yesterday in practice that was shown in front of the team today. And you know, he’s really had some good reps with the defense. He gets reps with the defense and also gets reps on scout team. I think he’s been stringing together practice after practice after practice, and our confidence is continuing to grow in him because we know he’s a good football player.”

The Eagles play in Week 3 against the Saints in New Orleans. Join Eagles beat reporters Olivia Reiner and EJ Smith as they dissect the hottest storylines surrounding the team on Gameday Central, live from Caesars Superdome.