Brandon Graham is already out for the year. Now it appears Brandon Brooks will miss an extended period, too. Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni revealed the team plans to place the starting right guard on injured reserve in the coming days.
Brooks is dealing with a pectoral strain (not a tear) suffered on Sunday after 25 snaps. Rookie Landon Dickerson filled in for the All-Pro starter and saw 33 snaps in his NFL debut. The second-rounder hopes to keep that role for at least three weeks, or until Brooks is healthy enough to return. There is a three-game minimum absence for guys placed on IR.
The Eagles should consider themselves fortunate that Brooks isn’t out for the year. Still, the 32-year-old is attempting to rehab from his fourth major injury since 2018. He’s endured two Achilles tears (right leg in 2018, left leg in 2020), plus a separated shoulder in the 2019 regular-season finale. Ouch.
Good news from #Eagles coach Nick Sirianni: G Brandon Brooks has a pec strain, not a full tear. That means he’s out several weeks and headed to IR… but it’s not season-ending.
Here is the complete injury update from Sirianni:
Yeah, Brandon Graham, he did rupture his Achilles. We’ll be without him. He’ll be out for the year.
Brandon Brooks, he strained his pec. We’re thinking he’s probably going to go to IR but it’s not a season-ending injury.
And then day-to-day with Davion [Taylor]. He had some scar tissue that built up in his calf that he had a little bit of pain in there. So, he’s day-to-day.
Sirianni:
* Graham out for the year
* Brooks to IR with strained pec, not season-ending
* Hurts not throwing over the middle a function of our gameplan
* Dickerson has some pass pro/assignment stuff to clean up. Won’t declare RG starter yet.
* Defense limiting big plays well
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Sirianni Doesn’t Want Players Criticizing Refs
A few Eagles players took aim at the officials following unnecessary roughness calls on Sunday. K’Von Wallace and Derek Barnett were flagged on back-to-back plays and the one on Wallace negated a fumble recovery by Darius Slay. The second-year safety criticized the refs in an Instagram story.
“Worst call I’ve ever been apart [sic] of can’t believe. Literally in disbelief,” Wallace wrote, via NBC Sports Philadelphia.
Trey Sermon first play, takes huge head to head contact snd loses ball
Sirianni denied any “disciplinary issues” with his team, but the first-year coach seemed upset over the way Wallace handled it. He doesn’t want his players disrespecting the officials.
“I don’t ever want any player criticizing the referees,” Sirianni said. “They’ve got a hard job just like we’ve got a hard job. They’ve got to make these decisions in a split second, and we all make mistakes, and again, I’m not saying it was the right call or the wrong call, but we’ve just got to hold ourselves accountable and not look at anybody else.”
Nate Herbig Fighting for Starting Job?
Dickerson was the next man up in Week 2 after Brooks left the game. It stands to reason that the Eagles would stick with him. But the second-round pick struggled in his NFL debut, allowing five pressures on 20 pass-block attempts. Pro Football Focus gave him a 44.0 overall grade, including a dismal 4.2 on pass blocking.
Not the best debut for Landon Dickerson, who had a 4.2 Pass Block grade according to @PFF. Dickerson allowed 5 pressures and 4 hurries in 20 pass blocks.
Sirianni didn’t rule out sliding Nate Herbig over to right guard while Brooks is out. Herbig started 12 games last season as he swapped in between right and left guard. He has also been cross-training at center. The Eagles are in the early stages of game-planning for the Dallas Cowboys.
“Yeah, obviously everything is a discussion,” Sirianni said of Herbig vs. Dickerson. “Nothing is final there. I don’t want to say, ‘Hey, it’s going to be Landon, it’s going to be Nate,’ one way or the other right now because we’re not there yet, to be perfectly honest with you.”
Nate Herbig the last 4 weeks of the season:
• 79.9 Overall Grade (3rd)
• 83.5 Pass Block Grade (3rd)
• 75.8 Run Block Grade (8th)
• 3 Pressures Allowed (T-13th)
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Eagles Provide Grim Update on Brandon Brooks, Competition Heats Up