Eagles Injury Report: Key starters return to practice ahead of Bills game

The Eagles got some much-needed good news on the injury front Friday, with A.J. Brown and Landon Dickerson both returning to practice and trending toward playing Sunday in Buffalo.

Brown missed earlier practices after having his wisdom teeth removed which, frankly, is the most football-guy injury explanation imaginable. Had to be something serious to just randomly get your wisdom teeth removed in the middle of the NFL season, right?

Regardless, it looks like he’ll be ready on Sunday in Buffalo. Brown enters Week 17 with 935 receiving yards and obviously remains a focal point of the Eagles’ passing game. Dickerson, who’s battled through a calf issue in recent weeks, was listed with an illness this week and is also expected to be good to go.

AJ Brown and Landon Dickerson return to Eagles practice Friday

A.J. Brown back after having wisdom teeth removed. Landon Dickerson is practicing as well.

Don’t see Lane Johnson. pic.twitter.com/GXMQPsU2t2

— Tim McManus (@Tim_McManus) December 26, 2025

That’s the good news.

The less encouraging update is that Lane Johnson and Nakobe Dean did not practice at all this week and are expected to be ruled out when the final injury report drops.

Johnson will miss his sixth straight game with a Lisfranc sprain suffered back in November. At this point, it wouldn’t be surprising if the Eagles hold him out until the playoffs. Fred Johnson will once again start at right tackle, and to his credit, he’s held things together better than expected.

Dean’s absence stings a bit more defensively. He left last week’s game against Washington with a hamstring injury and won’t be available against the Bills.

That means rookie Jihaad Campbell gets the start, a role he’s familiar with after opening the season as a starter before Dean returned from the PUP list. Campbell hasn’t played much lately, but the Eagles trust him, and this is the kind of spot where depth matters.

The biggest defensive development of the week is the return of Jalen Carter.

After missing three games following procedures on both shoulders, Carter practiced in full all week and is expected to be back Sunday. His return immediately changes the complexion of the Eagles’ defensive front and should help keep everyone else fresher against a physical Bills offense.

All seven players who were full participants Thursday were also back on the field Friday, including Zack Baun, DeVonta Smith, and Fred Johnson, which speaks to the team stabilizing health-wise at the right time.

With the NFC East already locked up, this game is about momentum, seeding, and getting as close to full strength as possible before January. Getting Brown, Dickerson, and Carter back while managing Johnson’s workload feels like exactly how a playoff-bound team should be handling business.

Now it’s about seeing how much this group has left in the tank before the real games start.

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