Getty Eagles DE Derek Barnett.
The Philadelphia Eagles have a fairly clean injury report heading into Thursday Night Football on October 14. Starting right tackle Lane Johnson (personal matter) was the only player missing at practice, with no new update on when he’ll be back.
On the positive side, center Jason Kelce (foot/rest) and Derek Barnett (ankle) were both upgraded to “limited participants” on Tuesday (October 12). There isn’t much concern about them sitting out the Week 6 matchup versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Right tackle Jordan Mailata (knee) and left guard Landon Dickerson (ankle) were “full participants” and cleared to play, barring a last-minute setback.
Mailata looked a tad rusty in Week 5, but head coach Nick Sirianni wasn’t concerned. Remember, the big Aussie was transitioning from left tackle to right tackle to accommodate left tackle Andre Dillard. Jack Driscoll started at right guard, with Kelce at his usual center position.
“I thought did he a good job. He gave up a couple plays as far as sacks, but he brushed it off,” Sirianni said of Mailata. “There was a lot of bad there on the offensive side. There were a lot of guys that had to brush it off and play the next play, but he fought till the ended. He finished. He did some good things.”
The Eagles paid Jordan Mailata $64M to play left tackle and then bumped him — not the backup, Andre Dillard — to right tackle once Lane Johnson went down.
It has not worked well!
The Eagles also protected four players on the practice squad: T Le’Raven Clark, WR John Hightower, DB Elijah Riley, TE Noah Togiai. Protected guys cannot be poached by rival teams leading up to kickoff. Togiai could be promoted to the active roster depending on what happens with Dallas Goedert.
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Jason Kelce Discusses Lane Johnson
Jason Kelce and Lane Johnson have been teammates on the Eagles’ offensive line for nine seasons. They’ve endured three different coaching changes and won a Super Bowl together. Needless to say, they can just about finish each other’s sentences.
Tuesday injury report
Eagles participated in a walkthrough. Today’s report is an estimation.
Kelce confirmed he recently spoke with Johnson who is away from the team dealing with a personal matter. The Pro Bowl center wouldn’t divulge what was discussed or when he might return, although Kelce did indicate how much Johnson meant to the team.
“I’ve talked to Lane, I just wish the best for him,” Kelce said. “Everybody in here loves that guy, he’s such a great person to be around, a guy that makes our room a lot more fun, a lot more energetic. Obviously he’s a great football player, and I just wish nothing but the best. I can’t say enough good things about Lane Johnson.”
Fletcher Cox Scouts Tom Brady
All-Pro defensive tackle Fletcher Cox recorded his first sack of the year in Week 5. Now he’s looking to keep the streak going against Tom Brady and the Super Bowl champions. The key to pressuring Brady is simple: get him in long down and distances.
Fletcher Cox says the key to stopping Tom Brady is to “be patient.” Brady gets the ball out so quickly. He said the team didn’t watch any 2018 Super Bowl tape. Totally different offense he’s running in Tampa Bay. #Eagles #FlyEaglesFly
“It’s always a challenge playing against him [Brady]. I’ve played against him a few times,” Cox told reporters. “And for us upfront it’s just us being patient. And getting him to those second-and-long, third-and-long situations.
“He’s really good at taking the check-down, he’s really good at just getting the ball to whoever’s open. So I think as long as everyone just gets to the ball, rally to the ball, and get the guy down with the ball, we’ll be OK.”
Fletcher Cox doesn’t want to give Brady any time to cook something up in the pocket. 👨🍳 (h/t @espn)
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Eagles Starter Nursing Ankle Injury, Team Protects 4 Players