Philadelphia Eagles DE Josh Sweat carted off versus New Orleans

The Philadelphia Eagles had a scary start to Sunday’s afternoon game versus the New Orleans Saints as defensive end Josh Sweat had to leave the field on a stretcher on a cart after coming in for a hard hit and colliding head-first into a Saints player in the first quarter. According to Josh Tolentino, Sweat is now on his way to a local hospital via ambulance.

Per Adam Schefter, the Eagles shared that Sweat’s trip to the hospital is precautionary due to a potential neck injury, however, he has movement in all extremities.

The entire Eagles team went on the field and took a knee in support of the former Florida State star. As the medical team evaluated Sweat and called for the cart, chants of “Sweat! Sweat! Sweat!” broke out across the stadium in Philadelphia.

Prayers up for Josh Sweat. He's being taken off the field on a stretcher. pic.twitter.com/N81Mi9kxvr

— 𝗙𝗢𝗟𝗟𝗢𝗪 @𝗙𝗧𝗕𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗱𝟳 (@FTBeard7) January 1, 2023

The Eagles have the opportunity to finally clinch the NFC East for good with a win versus the Saints, but they’re now stuck doing it without the star defensive end. Sweat managed a thumbs up to the crowd as he left the field on the cart.

Philadelphia has a one-game lead over the Dallas Cowboys after their NFC East rivals beat the Titans on Thursday night. A loss versus New Orleans on Sunday would make the Week 18 matchups for both teams critical must-win games.

The Eagles are already operating without quarterback Jalen Hurts and starting tackle Lane Johnson. Hurts is nursing a shoulder injury that kept him out in Week 16 versus Dallas. Backup quarterback Gardner Minshew is getting his second consecutive start.

Eagles lose Josh Sweat in first quarter versus Saints

The loss of Josh Sweat for the game on Sunday is costly but it could be much worse, depending on his diagnosis. The former fourth-round draft pick is first on the team in tackles for loss with 15 on the year. He also has 11 sacks, which is second on the team, and 47 total tackles.

Sweat came up with a major play in Week 16, despite the Eagles’ loss. He picked off quarterback Dak Prescott for the first interception of his career.

In his five seasons in the league and 70 games played, Sweat has 152 total tackles with 28.5 sacks.