A.J. Brown’s return to practice Friday was only a 24-hour lifeline of hope for the team’s fan base. The All-Pro receiver was downgraded to out on Saturday afternoon and will miss his third consecutive game with a hamstring injury.
The Eagles enter their bye week after Sunday’s game in Tampa Bay and Brown should be back for the Week 6 game against Cleveland.
Multiple team sources told Eagles on SI that Brown had been pushing to get back but worked only in a limited fashion at practice on Friday, running routes against air.
The Eagles ruled out Brown’s running mate at wide receiver, DeVonta Smith, on Friday. Smith is still in the league’s concussion protocol after suffering a head injury against New Orleans last week.
With only two completely healthy WRs ready to go on the 53-man roster – Jahan Dotson and rookie Johnny Wilson – the Eagles elevated a pair of veteran wideouts from the practice squad: Parris Campbell and John Ross.
The Eagles also ruled out linebacker Devin White due to personal reasons.
White, the No. 5 overall pick in the 2019 draft by Tampa Bay signed with the Eagles in the offseason after five seasons with the Bucs. He spent most of training camp as the starter at Mike LB but was ultimately beaten out by Nakobe Dean.
White has not played for the Eagles this season. He was ruled out for the season-opening win over Green Bay in Brazil with an ankle injury and then was a healthy scratch vs. Atlanta and at Atlanta.
Sunday will be the third consecutive elevation and the last one available for Campbell, meaning the Eagles must promote him to the 53 if they want to use him again past Sunday’s game.
To date, Campbell has two receptions for 13 yards this season with both catches coming in the Week 3 win over New Orleans.
Ross, the No. 9 overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft who never took off in Cincinnati, hasn’t played an NFL game since 2021. He attended the Eagles’ rookie camp back in the spring as a tryout player and impressed enough to be signed to an offseason roster spot on May 23.
Ross for some first-team reps in training camp but was ultimately released in the initial cut to 53 on Aug. 27 before being brought back to the PS earlier this week.
The Eagles have three other WRs on the PS: Kyle Phillips, Danny Gray, and Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint but Ross offers far more experience than any of them.
