Getty Pro Bowl WR A.J. Brown has embraced Philadelphia Eagles culture on the field and away from it.
The Philadelphia Eagles almost lost a key offensive starter before the season even started. A.J. Brown endured a scary scene at Friday’s practice after getting stung by a bee about 15 minutes before the first whistle blew.
The Pro Bowl receiver had a panicked look on his face with his hands clasped to his head. Brown stuck out like a sore thumb on the field as his teammates, unaware of the bug bite, stretched and warmed up around him.
When a reporter posted a picture of the odd pose, the $100 million playmaker responded in a now-deleted tweet (h/t to NBC Sports Philadelphia for the screen grab) that revealed the potentially dangerous issue.
So, what happened? Why did he look so perturbed? Well, he is allergic to bees and needed an EpiPen shot. This marked the first time Brown had been stung since he was 5 years old. The star player told The Inquirer’s Josh Tolentino he was worried how his body might react, hence the scared look on his face. He was trying to control his breathing.
Not to worry, Brown is “all good” and ready to roll for Week 1. He even made a joke about the incident on Twitter, referencing Muhammad Ali’s famous tagline.
#Eagles A.J. Brown just told me he’s feeling fine. Said he hadn’t been stung by a bee since he was about five years old, so he was just nervous how his body would react. He participated in practice and is ready to go for Detroit.
“I’m all good,” Brown says with a wide smile.
Not Worried About Having Too Many Playmakers
Prior to practice, Nick Sirianni addressed the media for the final time before Sunday’s regular-season opener. One of the topics he touched on was the challenge of feeding so many offensive weapons. In addition to Brown, the Eagles have DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert – all three of those guys will be competing for targets. It’s a good problem to have and Sirianni isn’t worried about anyone’s ego.
“I definitely won’t ever look at that as a challenge,” Sirianni said of spreading the ball around. “Hopefully you have the trust of the guys and you’ve connected with the guys enough that they understand the game plan. You tell them the why behind the game plan. You tell them what’s going on.
“Of course, all those guys are going to want ball, because they’re all competitors, all really good players, and all know if they touch the ball, they can help us win.”
Britain Covey Gives Eagles Another Weapon
Britain Covey was a surprise standout at training camp after going undrafted out of Utah. He flashed enough to survive final cuts and land on the practice squad, mainly thanks to his explosiveness on punt returns. There is a rumor spreading that the Eagles might activate him on Sunday, maybe even throw him out to return a kick or two.
Asked Britain Covey if he’s be returning kicks on Sunday and the practice-squad WR, who might be the nicest guy in the world, said he honestly didn’t know.
If they do, the 25-year-old rookie will be ready. Covey, who recently took Jalen Reagor’s No. 18 jersey, spent the entire summer working toward that goal while earning the trust of his teammates.
“Well, I do a lot of visualization to put myself in that mindset. So, I’m not going to be wide-eyed, that’s never the type of person I’ve been,” Covey told reporters. “And I hope that my teammates trust me enough. That’s kind of what I’ve been working on. But, I live for that moment. I’m excited for that moment. I feel like my body of work throughout camp has given my teammates the ability to trust me.”
Britain Covey will be wearing Jalen Reagor’s number 18
Will he be the fifth receiver and return punts Sunday in Detroit?
