Eagles Defender on Verge of Making Season Debut in Week 7
By Jovan Alford
The Philadelphia Eagles’ secondary could be getting an added boost heading into their Week 7 matchup against the New York Giants.
According to Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer, second-year safety Sydney Brown is tracking toward being activated off injured reserve. McLane adds that Brown will likely have a special teams role at first.
This is fantastic news for the Eagles as Brown was one of the lone bright spots in the secondary towards the end of last season. The 24-year-old safety suffered a torn ACL in Week 18 against the Giants on punt coverage.
The former third-round pick had his practice window opened last week after being placed on the PUP (physically unable to perform) list at the start of training camp.
Last season, Brown had 45 combined tackles, three pass deflections, a forced fumble, a tackle for loss, and an interception (defensive touchdown). The rookie’s first career interception was in Week 17 against the Arizona Cardinals, where Brown returned it for an electrifying 99-yard touchdown.
The 5-foot-10 defensive back made six starts last season and played 35 percent of defensive and 59 percent of special teams snaps. If Brown gets up to speed on special teams, it will only be a matter of time before defensive coordinator Vic Fangio starts mixing him in on defense.
The new Eagles defensive coordinator has not been afraid to give the young guys in the secondary more snaps, which was evident in last week's win against the Cleveland Browns.
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