Josh Sweat Ruled Out After 'Life-Threatening Situation'
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TAMPA - The Eagles have ruled their leading sack specialist, edge rusher Josh Sweat out for Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Sweat was unable to practice this week with what was described as an illness something coach Nick Sirianni shed a little light on by Friday when he mentioned Sweat was dealing with abdominal pain.
The fourth-year pro from Florida State was listed as questionable by the Eagles on Friday and did make the trip to Central Florida where he was seen smiling by numerous sources both inside and outside the team, sparking hope Sweat would be able to play despite what the team described just hours before kickoff as a life-threatening situation.
“On Tuesday night, Josh Sweat was admitted to the hospital. He underwent an emergency procedure due to the severity of the matter,” a team spokesman said. “The doctors addressed a life-threatening situation.
“In the following days, Josh and our medical team did everything possible to help him return to play. He improved every day but it was determined by the doctors today that he was not quite ready. The fact that Josh came so close to playing is a credit to his toughness and our medical staff.”
The Eagles did not describe the situation further but did note it was not an appendix issue.
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Philadelphia also ruled out starting right guard Nate Herbig, who has been dealing with an ankle injury. Sua Opeta is expected to start in his absence while the Eagles also have Jack Anderson and practice-squad elevation Kayode Awosika available.
Other players ruled inactive by the Eagles were special-teams standout Andre Chachere, running back Jason Huntley, third-string quarterback Reid Sinnett, and cornerbacks Kary Vincent Jr. and Tay Gowan.
The most notable Tampa game-day inactive was CB Sean Murphy-Bunting.
-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's EagleMaven and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on both PhillyVoice.com and YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Extending the Play" on AM1490 in South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Eagle Maven and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglemaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.
