After a two-year wait, can Sydney Brown take advantage of his opportunity?
After a two-year wait, can Sydney Brown take advantage of his opportunity? originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
He didn't like it. But he accepted it.
Sydney Brown wasn't thrilled he lost the training camp battle for the second safety spot to Drew Mukuba. But he understood, and he knew complaining about it wasn't going to help anyone.
So he just decided to be the best special teams player he could be and prepare the best could in case he had to play.
And here we are.
Brown will make his first start in a meaningful game in nearly two years Friday in place of Mukuba, who suffered what's likely a season-ending broken ankle in the final seconds of the Eagles' loss to the Cowboys Sunday.
As long as the team's winning, I'm just going to own my role for what it is," Brown said at his locker Tuesday. I mean, what's best for the team? That's how I look at it. And are we winning football games? That's all I care about. And that's all you can ask for, especially in this profession.
It's about winning football games. That's what it is, and I don't knock on that. And I think at the end of the day, you might not agree with some of the decisions made, but it's obviously made for the best of the team. And that's all that matters."
Brown, a 3rd-round pick in 2023 out of Illinois, started six games as a rookie in 2023 - mainly in the slot - and had a 99-yard pick-6 off Kyler Murray in the late-season loss to the Cards. But he only had 87 snaps in meaningful games last year and in the first 10 games this year, playing C.J. Gardner Johnson last year and Mukuba so far this year.
He had a good summer but lost a training camp battle with Mukuba, although it was close.
So he's been waiting his turn a long time.
It's going to be amazing," he said. That's what I came here to do. And just kind of embracing the opportunity for what it is."
I feel horrible for Drew. He's been having a great season so far, doing a really good job in the secondary as a safety. And I hate to see that as a young player. And I can relate to him because I went through it. What he's going through is a tough process, but he's gonna get through it. He's going to be better on the back end of it."
As for Brown, he's 25 now and a three-year veteran, and he believes he's a better player than he was when he was forced to start as a rookie.
He needs to be.
I'm ready," he said. I feel like I've been ready since camp. I think I've been prepared since I got here. I just had a couple of setbacks in the past, and it's just been something to work back from. But I think I've been ready to go since. I came here."
Brown played 26 snaps Sunday, his most since that Arizona game late in 2023. They were split between box safety (14) and free safety (11) with one in the slot.
I think he's been doing a good job in practice with the reps that he does get," Vic Fangio said. He's done a good job staying in tune in the meetings and the walkthroughs, and I'm excited to see how he does."
Brown has always been a big-time hitter, but his issue has been reigning himself in. He's had a tendency to make big plays but also to play too fast and over-run plays, take bad angles and commit dumb penalties. He's got nine over the last two years.
You always wondered what his game would look like if he just slowed down a little and let the game come to him.
He says he's at that point.
Yeah, I think just calming down a little bit when I get in there and just playing the game I love, playing the game I know how to play," he said.
I feel like I have a calm presence. I'm confident, I know what I'm doing, but I think I think just slowing down a little bit, coming under control, I think we'll be extremely successful."