Eagles QB Sam Bradford ruled out Sunday vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Sam Bradford will not play on Sunday for the Philadelphia Eagles in a pivotal home game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Philadelphia Eagles starting quarterback Sam Bradford will not play on Sunday due to suffering a separated shoulder, as well as a concussion in the Eagles’ loss to the Miami Dolphins in Week 10, per Fox Sports’ Mike Garafolo.

Bradford had to leave Week 10’s game in the third quarter after being hit from behind by Dolphins linebacker Chris McCain, landing on his non-throwing shoulder. Though Sam Bradford had been healthy for the first nine weeks of the 2015 NFL season, his tendency to miss playing time because of injury came to the surface in Week 10.

Fellow former first-round pick, quarterback Mark Sanchez, will start in place of Bradford for the Eagles on Sunday. This is an important game for both Philadelphia and Tampa Bay, as both clubs sit at 4-5 on the year and need to win to stay alive in the NFC Wild Card race. Philadelphia and Tampa Bay are two games back of both the Green Bay Packers and the Atlanta Falcons.

Tampa Bay will need to earn a Wild Card spot, as they are five games back of NFC South leading Carolina. Philadelphia is in second in the NFC East with the Washington Redskins, trailing the New York Giants by a game in their always tight division.

Perhaps Sanchez could give the Eagles some spark on offense that they have not had with Bradford under center in 2015. Sanchez is in his second season in head coach Chip Kelly’s offense with the Philadelphia Eagles, serving as the team’s backup quarterback the last two years. Philadelphia will need to rally behind Sanchez at home on Sunday against a Buccaneers team that can win on the road with rookie starting quarterback Jameis Winston under center. The winner of this game moves to .500 at 5-5, while the loser will fall to 4-6 on the year.