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Philadelphia Eagles dealing with injuries to top players heading into Sunday’s game against Saints

Philadelphia Eagles
Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Eagles will be without their top playmaker on the offensive side of the ball against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday — and one of their best defensive backs might not suit up either.

To no one’s surprise, All-Pro wide receiver A.J. Brown will miss his second consecutive game as he’s dealing with a hamstring injury. Brown’s injury initially popped up on the injury report last Friday ahead of the Birds’ Monday Night Football game against the Atlanta Falcons.

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Brown told ESPN’s Lisa Salters that he expected to miss a couple of games. The Eagles are hoping he’ll back in time for the Week 4 matchup against the Buccaneers in Tampa Bay.

With Brown out, quarterback Jalen Hurts will need to rely on playmakers DeVonta Smith, Saquon Barkley, and Dallas Goedert.

Will top safety play?

The Eagles might also be without safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson. He was added to the injury report Thursday with a foot issue and didn’t practice yesterday or today.

The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane reported that Gardner-Johnson declined to address his foot injury with reporters Friday. McLane previously said Gardner-Johnson’s foot issue wasn’t a major concern.

Gardner-Johnson has been listed as questionable.

The Eagles are incredibly thin at safety, so losing Gardner-Johnson for any amount of games would be a blow to a defense that’s gotten off to a slow start. According to Dave Zangaro of NBC Sports Philadelphia, if Gardner-Johnson is unable to play, the Eagles have some options. They could play Tristin McCollum, who has mainly been used on special teams to begin the season, or move Avonte Maddox back to safety and play rookie Cooper Dejean as the nickel cornerback.

The Saints are off to a roaring 2-0 start on the season. Quarterback Derek Carr has thrown for 443 yards and five touchdowns, and star running back Alvin Kamara has rushed for nearly 200 yards and scored five touchdowns.

The Birds are 2.5-point underdogs to the Saints.

Related: Philadelphia Eagles still committed to high-priced defensive end as starter amid brutal start

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