Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Josh Sweat was listed as questionable to play against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Super Wild Card Weekend due to an illness, but he was reportedly facing a much more serious issue. On Sunday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Sweat won’t play vs. the Bucs after overcoming a “life-threatening” situation this week.
The Eagles released a statement on the matter, which was shared by NFL Media’s Mike Garafolo:
“On Tuesday night, Josh Sweat was admitted to the hospital. He underwent an emergency procedure due to the severity of the matter. 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.”
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said during the week that Sweat was dealing with some sort of abdominal issue. However, according to Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Eagles said Sweat’s emergency procedure was not for a ruptured appendix.
Sweat was originally drafted by the Eagles in the fourth round of the 2018 NFL Draft out of Florida State. He had a career-year in 2021, as Sweat recorded 45 combined tackles, 7.5 sacks, four passes defensed and a forced fumble.
