The Philadelphia Eagles returned to the practice field on Friday to begin preparing for their Sunday matchup against the Buffalo Bills.
Unfortunately, two key players were noticeably absent from the session. Lane Johnson and Nakobe Dean didn’t practice on Friday and missed every session this week.
While that doesn’t guarantee they are out for Sunday’s game in Buffalo, NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Dave Zangaro doesn’t expect to see them suiting up for the matchup.
Lane Johnson’s injury occurred during the Eagles’ Week 11 matchup against the Detroit Lions. He wasn’t expected to miss the remainder of the regular season, but he’s approaching that territory.
Fortunately, Johnson seems to be progressing well enough to play in the playoffs, barring any setbacks. While it’s way too early to make the call on his postseason status, Johnson still has another week to return to the field for regular-season action if he misses Sunday’s game.
Last week, Nakobe Dean left the Eagles’ matchup with the Washington Commanders due to a hamstring injury. He finished the game with two tackles, playing just 24 percent of the defensive snaps for the game.
Fortunately, the Eagles managed to put their recent game away with a 29-18 win in the absence of both stars, but they don’t seem to be on pace to have them this weekend.
On a brighter note, the Eagles got their star receiver, AJ Brown, back on the practice field on Friday. Earlier this week, it was revealed that Brown underwent a dental procedure, which put his status for Sunday in question as he didn’t practice to begin the week.
The Eagles haven’t made a final call on Brown’s status, but he seems to be trending in the right direction. Last week, brown was targeted 12 times. He caught nine passes for 95 yards. He’s up to 935 yards and seven touchdowns on the year while heading into Buffalo.
The Eagles and the Bills will kick off at 4:25 PM ET on Sunday.