🦅 Deal-breaker | Sports Daily Newsletter

Howie Roseman has hit a snag in his efforts to trade James Bradberry. The cornerback-turned-safety landed on the injured list Thursday after the Eagles disclosed that he suffered a lower leg injury the previous day in practice.

Bradberry’s injury is to a tendon, Jeff McLane reported, and he is expected to be out for six to eight weeks. The Eagles rewarded Bradberry with a three-year, $38 million contract after his All-Pro season in 2022, but he responded with a clunker in 2023. The team still owes him close to $11 million.

Bradberry’s salary-cap hit of $4.305 million for this season is not significant, but the Eagles had hoped to get something in return for a player who is costing them a lot of money.

In the meantime, Eagles fans, the opener against the Packers in Sao Paulo, Brazil, is only one week away. Let the countdown begin.

— Jim Swan, @phillysport, sports.daily@inquirer.com.

If someone forwarded you this email, sign up for free here.

Your newsletter is taking a long weekend for Labor Day. There will be no Sports Daily on Monday or Tuesday. We will return to your inboxes on Wednesday. Happy Labor Day!

You can’t release a 32-year-old starting pitcher who has two years and $36 million remaining on his contract. You certainly can’t do it with 31 days left in the regular season.

Can you?

Columnist David Murphy runs through the thinking Rob Thomson and Dave Dombrowski must be going through as they decide what to do with the struggling Taijuan Walker.

For now, the Phillies will use Walker as a long man out of the bullpen.

Third baseman Alec Bohm left the game against the Braves after two innings Thursday night because of discomfort in his left hand. Bohm hurt his hand on a swing in his first at-bat, and X-rays came back negative.

Without Bohm, the Phillies fell behind 4-0 against Charlie Morton and the Braves, but stormed back for a 5-4 victory thanks to home runs from Brandon Marsh and Nick Castellanos. They also increased their division lead over Atlanta to six games.

Next: The Phillies continue their series against Atlanta at 6:40 tonight (NBCSP). Ranger Suarez 11-5, 2.82 ERA) will start against Braves right-hander Reynaldo Lopez (7-4, 2.02).

Over the last two seasons, A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith have firmly established themselves as one of the league’s most potent wide receiver tandems. But after “Batman” and “Robin,” there has been a considerable drop-off.

Those days could be over with last week’s acquisition of former Penn State star Jahan Dotson. In fact, Jeff Neiburg argues that adding Dotson might give the Eagles a claim to having the top wide receiver trio in the NFL.

The Eagles continue to tinker with their roster a week out from their season opener in Brazil. Meet the newest high-pedigree player acquired by Howie Roseman.

Tra Thomas has waited in the wings since he arrived at Temple. In his redshirt junior season, the edge rusher will get a chance to show what he can do. Thomas has been awarded one of Temple’s single-digit jerseys, an honor given to players the coaching staff believes exhibit the qualities of the program. (He is not related to the former Eagles lineman, although he is named after him.) His big opportunity begins tonight at 7 when the Owls visit No. 16 Oklahoma in their opener (ESPN).

Here are five things to know before the Owls kick off their campaign.

No. 8 Penn State will open its season against West Virginia on Saturday at noon (Fox 29). Here are five things to know.

The 76ers had quite a summer, landing Paul George to pair with Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey and adding a roster of veterans to complement their big three. Now comes the interesting part for Sixers coach Nick Nurse, who will be charged with making the pieces fit. The Inquirer’s Gina Mizell projected what that could look like, diving into the carousel of players moving in and out of the lineup, starting with the arrival of George and departure of Tobias Harris.

On the outside looking in at a playoff spot, the Union need to start stringing points together. To make matters worse, manager Jim Curtin can no longer call on the likes of Julián Carranza and José Andrés Martínez to save the day. Instead, he’s been turning to Bridesburg native Quinn Sullivan to produce offense.

So far, Sullivan has failed to deliver in recent games, and as Jonathan Tannenwald writes, it might be time to try someone else in midfield.

Next: The Union begin an eight-game sprint to the finish Saturday at Red Bull Arena against New York (7:30 p.m., Apple TV).

We asked for your Philly sports-centric photos and you continue to deliver. Here are our Philly fan photos for this week as part of our Friday lineup.

To keep this feature going, we’ll need you to keep submitting photos with a Philly sports theme. Send your photos here for the opportunity to be featured.

Here’s a place to access your favorite Philadelphia teams’ statistics, schedules, and standings in real time.

We asked you: Which position group are you most concerned about on the Eagles’ roster? Among your responses:

Right now my main concern is the defensive line. We need a great pass rush and I’m not certain we have that. The leadership of Fletcher Cox will be missed and I’m not certain how much Brandon Graham has left in the tank, or how much he’ll play. Second concern is the offensive line. They’ll miss Jason Kelce and there is no backup center yet. — Tom G.

I am not concerned with any unit of the Eagles on the offensive side. The only unit less strong than last year is the offensive line, and that’s only because the irreplaceable Jason Kelce retired. Jurgens will fill his spot adequately, and it injured they can shift Dickerson back to his natural position and plug left guard. ... The linebackers, a long-term problem, may still be the “weakest link,” and the only unit of concern. No future all-pros in that group, and no depth, it is clearly the weakest unit on the team, talent wise. — Jay W.

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Jeff McLane, Jeff Neiburg, David Murphy, Alex Coffey, Gina Mizell, Gustav Elvin, Jonathan Tannenwald, and Kerith Gabriel.

By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.

That’s all for the week, newsletter fans. Thank you for reading. A reminder that Sports Daily is taking a holiday break, so we’ll see you on Wednesday. — Jim