Philadelphia Eagles have obvious drop-off at LT moving from Mailata to Dillard
By Kristen Wong
As you may have heard, Philadelphia Eagles starting offensive tackle Jordan Mailata was injured in Thursday’s practice, and there was no clear timeline as far as recovery. There still isn’t, but we do know his status for Week 3’s game.
Mailata will miss Monday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys. Andre Dillard will assume his role and take over at left tackle. Dillard took the first-team reps on Friday and Saturday and has the vote of approval from coach Nick Sirianni, who told reporters that he’s looking forward to “watching [Dillard] step up and fill Jordan’s role and have a good game.”
Indications are #Eagles LT Jordan Mailata (knee) won’t play Monday against the #Cowboys and it’ll be Andre Dillard in his spot. Sources say Mailata’s absence shouldn’t be a long-term thing though.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) September 24, 2021
Sirianni also said that the change won’t affect his offensive game plan, but it’s still unclear as to when Mailata will recover from the injury.
The only good news is that Mailata won’t be placed on injured reserve, which means Philly is at least confident that Mailata will be back on the field sooner rather than later.
Through the first two weeks of the season, the Eagles’ O-line has impressed almost entirely due to Mailata’s timely emergence.
Philadelphia Eagles get good and bad news on Jordan Mailata’s injury
The ex-rugby player recently signed a four-year extension with Philly, and his performance may dictate how well Jalen Hurts plays this year. Even in the crushing loss to the 49ers, Mailata showed elite run-blocking abilities and remains one of the most prized offensive linemen on the team.
The downgrade from Mailata to Dillard is depressing no matter how “confident” Sirianni is in Dillard’s abilities. The last time Dillard started a game was two years ago in a home loss to Seattle, and Dillard has been outplayed by Mailata ever since Mailata took Jason Peters’ place and ran away with it.
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Despite Mailata being out, Monday’s matchup with the Cowboys is still winnable. Sure, only three of the team’s original offensive linemen are left standing, but Dallas isn’t impressive along the offensive line. As you know, in Week 2, Philly lost Brandon Graham to a season-ending Achilles injury and Brandon Brooks as well. The latter will miss a significant amount of time due to his pectoral injury.
Philly has been historically known for its solid offensive lines, up until recently anyway, but the upcoming game will be a huge test for the inexperienced Dillard. That isn’t to say we don’t have hope for the Birds. We do, but we’re also crossing our fingers that Mailata gets better soon.