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Eagles news: Brandon Brooks’ absence was due to dehydration

By Geoffrey Knox

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - NOVEMBER 06: Brandon Brooks #79 of the Philadelphia Eagles in action against the New York Giants during their game at MetLife Stadium on November 6, 2016 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - NOVEMBER 06: Brandon Brooks #79 of the Philadelphia Eagles in action against the New York Giants during their game at MetLife Stadium on November 6, 2016 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) /
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We now know the cause of what had Brandon Brooks ‘M.I.A.’ during Sunday’s practice.

It’s an ‘illness’. ‘He’ll be fine’. That’s pretty much all that we got from Philadelphia Eagles head coach Doug Pederson as he tried to shed some light on why his Pro Bowl right guard, Brandon Brooks, was absent during Sunday’s practice session, the team’s fourth practice of this young 2018 training camp.

Brooks stands at six-foot-five and weighs 335 pounds, so when he’s missing, it’s pretty easy to notice.

Let’s get some of you caught up.

We all knew something was wrong when Brooks left practice Saturday. The All-Pro has started 74 of the 80 games he’s appeared in over the last six seasons. He’s pretty sturdy, so when leaving a Saturday session carried over into him being absent the next day, antennas were raised.

Apparently, what actually happened was Brooks was dehydrated and had to go to the hospital on Saturday. His kidneys weren’t functioning properly, and doctors saw fit to keep him out of Sunday’s session as a precautionary measure.

Call us crazy, but that doesn’t quite sound like an illness. Brooks returned to the heat and humidity to join his teammates on Day 5 of practice, Tuesday, but you can best believe Jeff Stoutland and company are keeping their eyes on this one.

Here’s a quote from Brooks. He spoke with NBC Sports Philadelphia on Tuesday:

"I came out here and got dehydrated. It was humid. My kidneys weren’t functioning the way they needed to, which was pretty scary in itself, but (I) got my numbers back down and wanted to get back out here with the boys."

Brooks dealt with anxiety issues in 2016, and when Pederson dismissed what was going on as an ‘illness’, some may have felt those same complications had resurfaced. They haven’t. Thankfully, Brooks now has that under control.

Forever the ultimate ‘team-first’ guy, Brooks was more concerned that he may have let his fellow teammates down.

Here’s more from him on that subject:

"The worst part about all that was just feeling bad knowing that my boys are out here grinding and because of what happened, I wasn’t out here with them. That was the toughest part for me, but glad to be back out here and everything’s good."

We, at ITI, believe that we’re safe in saying that no one on Philly’s roster is upset with Brooks for any reason. They’re, no doubt, just happy ‘Number 79’ is back out there.

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