Yahoo Sports A.J. Brown injury update: Latest on Eagles star's knee ahead of wild-card playoff game
The Philadelphia Eagles are flying high heading into NFL wild-card weekend.
They wrapped up the regular season on a hot streak, with the team stacking wins while getting back to full strength for what they hope is a long playoff run. The Friday news dump was also good to the birds.
Jalen Hurts cleared concussion protocol, and A.J. Brown came off the injury report.
The Eagles receiver, who has been dealing with a nagging knee injury, gave fans a scare with a missed practice on Thursday after an early exit on Wednesday. With Brown being ready to go, Philly fans can rest easy in the lead-up to kickoff, enjoying Saturday before taking on the Green Bay Packers in Sunday's late afternoon slot.
Here's the latest on Brown ahead of wild-card weekend:
A.J. Brown injury update
Brown was a full participant in Friday's practice and removed from the injury report, meaning he will play on Sunday.
“I know I’m banged up, but everybody is,” Brown told reporters after practice.
Brown's return to action means the Eagles will be heading into wild-card weekend as healthy as they've been in a long time.
He was a DNP on Thursday, which represented a downgrade for the star receiver, who logged a limited session on Wednesday. However, there was minimal concern from the Eagles, since the absence seemed to be part of the plan.
Regardless, any downgrade was a troublesome sign, even if it was planned. Brown left practice quickly on Wednesday and did not return.
Brown has been consistently listed with the knee issue on the Eagles' injury report since Week 16. Friday represented his first full practice since Friday, Dec. 27. Part of that is thanks to Philadelphia's decision to rest their starters in Week 18, which was a meaningless game since the Eagles were already locked into the No. 2 seed.
What is A.J. Brown's injury?
Brown has been dealing with a nagging knee injury for the last few weeks, something that has cost him plenty of practice time over the last month. The Eagles have also been nursing the ailment by giving the receiver some rest days, but the injury hasn't prevented Brown from playing. He was one of the team's players that were given Week 18 off to prepare for the playoffs.
Who are the Eagles playing in the playoffs?
The Eagles are set to host the Green Bay Packers in a rematch of their Week 1 game that took place in Brazil. Philadelphia won that game 34-29.
A.J. Brown stats
Brown finished the regular season having hauled in 67 of 97 targets, while posting 1,079 yards and seven touchdowns. It was the third straight season he eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark, which coincides with his arrival in Philadelphia. Brown only managed to play in 13 games, missing three with a hamstring injury early in the season and then Week 18 when the team rested starters.
It's been a frustrating year at times for the star receiver, who said the passing attack needed to improve following a poor performance against the Panthers. He was also rumored to be at odds with Hurts, per teammate Brandon Graham, who later walked back the comments.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: A.J. Brown injury update: Eagles WR status before Packers playoff game
