Getty Pro Bowl right tackle Lane Johnson is out for Week 4 due to a personal matter.
Jason Kelce is once again the last man standing on the Philadelphia Eagles’ injury-prone offensive line. The team ruled starting right tackle Lane Johnson out about 90 minutes prior to kickoff on Sunday (Oct. 3). Jack Driscoll is expected to draw the start there.
Johnson dealt with a recurring ankle injury last season, one that dated back to the 2018 season, before undergoing season-ending surgery to fix it. However, the three-time Pro Bowler was listed inactive in Week 4 due to a personal matter. The Eagles will trot out the following offensive line against the Kansas City Chiefs: left tackle Andre Dillard, left guard Landon Dickerson, center Jason Kelce, right guard Nate Herbig, right tackle Jack Driscoll.
Brett Toth will serve as the backup at right tackle. Driscoll was just activated to the 53-man roster on Saturday (Oct. 2). If he’s not fully up to speed – or healed up from the pectoral strain he suffered at training camp – then Toth might step in. The Eagles also have swing guard Sua Opeta active. Dickerson is switching from right guard to left guard this week.
Jason Kelce is again the last man standing on the #Eagles OL:
LT Andre Dillard (Jordan Mailata, knee)
LG Landon Dickerson (Isaac Seumalo, foot)
C Kelce
RG Nate Herbig/Jack Driscoll (Brandon Brooks, bicep)
RT Jack Driscoll/Brett Toth (Lane Johnson, personal)
Head coach Nick Sirianni expressed confidence in his backups back on Sept. 25 when news of Mailata’s knee sprain first broke. He credited offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland for preparing those guys to play.
“Stout does a lot of work in there getting a lot more walk-throughs than we even get,” Sirianni told reporters. “He’s going and doing walk-throughs during meeting times as well. They’ve had a ton of communication back and forth with each other, so as far as the communication and a chemistry standpoint, I’ve got no worries there. This is a really tight unit, not just 1 through 5 but 1 through 10.”
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Chiefs List Starting CB Inactive
The Kansas City Chiefs didn’t have any surprises on their inactive sheet. Starting cornerback Charvarius Ward (quadriceps) was expected to miss the game. Ditto for starting defensive end Frank Clark (hamstring) and cornerback Rashad Fenton (concussion).
Andy Reid’s squad will also be without center Austin Blythe, guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, and wide receiver Daurice Fountain. Those three guys were all listed as healthy scratches.
Here are the Chiefs’ inactives for today’s game against the Eagles:
CB Rashad Fenton
CB Charvarius Ward
DE Frank Clark
OL Austin Blythe
OG Laurent Duvernay-Tardif
WR Daurice Fountain
Driscoll, Josiah Scott Active for Eagles
In addition to Driscoll, the Eagles added cornerback Josiah Scott to the 53-man roster on Saturday (Oct. 2). He was active and could see snaps as the team’s nickel cornerback.
Safety Rodney McLeod is also making his first start of the year. Sirianni declined to say how much of a role any of the previously injured players would have versus Kansas City, adding that how they looked in practice would be the litmus test.
“Yeah, you know, I think that just you watch practice, and we evaluate practice like we evaluate the game,” Sirianni told reporters on Oct. 1. “But we, obviously, keep an eye on that to see how he’s getting in there. And sometimes it’s – it takes a little bit of time. But sometimes it just takes that one hit that you give or one hit that you get to be ready to go. And so, I’m not concerned about that. And just ready to get him out there and rip it out there.”
Look who’s back 👀