Philadelphia Eagles LB Shaun Bradley to miss 2023 season after injury in preseason opener

Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Shaun Bradley will miss the entire 2023 season after suffering an injury in the team's preseason opener against the Baltimore Ravens.

The injury happened in the third quarter of Saturday's game while Bradley was on punt coverage. He went down on the play and didn't get up, as teammates surrounded him before he was carted off into the locker room. Bradley suffered a torn Achilles, according to ESPN's Tim McManus.

Bradley confirmed he would be out for the year in an Instagram post.

"Not how i wanted the season to end for me," Bradley wrote. "But I believe that god truly does give his toughest battles to his strongest soldiers."

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Eagles linebacker situation

A fourth-year linebacker out of Temple, Bradley has played sparingly on defense since he was selected by Philadelphia in the 2020 NFL Draft, starting one game in 2021. However, he has been a special teams mainstay for the Eagles, appearing in 80% of the special team snaps last season with seven tackles.

Even with Bradley spending most of his playing time on special teams, Bradley's injury adds another concern to the uncertainty within the Philadelphia linebacker group. Last season's starters T.J. Edwards and Kyzir White left in free agency, so the Eagles have been working with Nakobe Dean, Nicholas Morrow and Christian Elliss to fill those spots. Eagles general manager Howie Roseman said in July he would keep the team's options open at linebacker and followed that up by signing veterans Myles Jack and Zach Cunningham to one-year deals.