The Philadelphia Eagles will be without starting left tackle Andre Dillard during the 2020 NFL season after he tore his biceps and will likely need season-ending surgery next week Derrick Gunn reported.
Dillard, the team’s first-round pick in 2019, suffered the injury during one-on-one drills early in Thursday’s practice, and now the Eagles will need to adjust.
Here are four takeaways from the news:
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1. Jason Peters insurance policy pays off
The decision is on the Eagles, but what they know is that Peters’ can make the switch if Jordan Mailata isn’t up to the task. Even as he allegedly slipped some, Peters was elite last season at left tackle, with PFF ranking him as the 4th-best offensive tackle in the NFL.
He only allowed 21 pressures in 562 pass-blocking snaps.
2. Jordan Mailata may finally get his shot
Mailata, the former rugby player out of Australia, has been the player to replace Dillard in the lineup during training camp and with the Eagles badly needing to see if he can play, now would be the best time.
3. Dillard’s future now up in the air?
Dillard, 24, was already having a shaking training camp, had missed time with an unrelated injury, and almost got quarterback Carson Wentz injured on Wednesday.
started four games as a rookie in 2019, with mixed results, will miss his entire second season and the Eagles will enter the 2021 salary cap-strapped season unsure about their left tackle.
4. Eagles offensive line will be tested in front of Carson Wentz
The Eagles could trot out a lineup of Mailata, Seumalo, Kelce, Peters, and Johnson, or Peters, Seumalo, Kelce, Pryor, and Johnson. The depth that was once an integral part of this unit has now evaporated with Dillard and Brandon Brooks both out. Pryor likely would have been the right guard if the team didn’t re-sign Peters.
Mailata and rookie Jack Driscoll will both likely be the swing tackles and guards as well.
