Lane Johnson has been ruled out for Sunday’s game in Carolina but Jordan Mailata will return, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said on Friday.
Johnson, 31, has been dealing with a personal matter that forced him to be a last-minute scratch against the Chiefs. He missed all three days of practice this week.
We know Johnson was in Oklahoma and flew back to Philadelphia this week. Aside from that, details have been scarce.
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Mailata missed the last two games with an MCL sprain he suffered in practice, but is ready to return.
“He’ll be up,” Sirianni said. “I just saw a guy who was ready to play. Yeah, so I’m excited that he’s back and ready to roll. Really a tribute to him and the work he’s put in, our doctors, our trainers. We’ve got great doctors and trainers, we really do, and our strength staff. Really excited that he was able to get a really quick turnaround. That could have been longer.”
Sirianni wouldn’t say if Mailata would play on the left or right side of the line, citing competitive advantage. But my best guess is that Mailata plays on the right side, which would allow Andre Dillard to stay on the left. That probably gives the Eagles their best OL combination.
So the line the Eagles might use on Sunday is (left to right): Dillard, Landon Dickerson, Jason Kelce, Jack Driscoll, Mailata.
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The Eagles could put Mailata back at left tackle and force Dillard to play on the right side, but moving sides isn’t as natural for Dillard.
Either way, it seems likely that Driscoll will start at right guard over Nate Herbig, who was forced into action last week. The Eagles could start Driscoll at right tackle and Herbig at right guard again, but the Eagles likely view Dillard as one of their five best linemen.
After missing practice on Thursday for the birth of his child, Darius Slay was back at the NovaCare Complex on Friday.
Jason Kelce (foot), Avonte Maddox (neck) and Quez Watkins (knee) all appear good to go for Sunday.
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