Jordan Mailata enjoying added motivation for Eagles game versus Saints

G’day Mom! G’day dad! Maria and Tupa’i Mailata haven’t seen their son, Jordan Mailata in three years. They’ve watched his games on television but never in person, but the holidays are about surprises. Here’s a nice story if you missed it. Everyone’s favorite former South Sydney Rabbitoh was given a late Christmas present.

Mailata welcomed his parents to America on Christmas Day. It’s their first trip to the United States. Their son left Sydney for Philadelphia in 2018 when the Eagles drafted him in the seventh round of the NFL Draft, 233rd overall. As you can imagine, he’s been pretty busy ever since.

His parents will be in the stands at Lincoln Financial Field to watch the Philadelphia Eagles play the New Orleans Saints in Week 17 on New Year’s Day.

Here’s some of what Jordan had to say on the subject.

Mailata won the starting left tackle job in 2021 and immediately signed a four-year, $64 million contract on September 11th. This year, he’s appeared on The Masked Singer and released a Christmas album with Jason Kelce and Lane Johnson.

Here are some options for the offensive line of the Philadelphia Eagles

Mailata hasn’t been hard to find, but his parents might want to have a program handy for the Saints game to help them keep up with the shuffling offensive line. Johnson will miss the next two games with a torn adductor tendon. The expectation is that Jack Driscoll will take his place in the lineup, but starting Andre Dillard at left tackle and moving Mailata to right tackle is another option.

Early in his career, Mailata practiced almost exclusively at right tackle and he’s filled in for Johnson in the past. The question is this. Do the Eagles really want to disrupt two spots on their offensive line?

Unless Gardner Minshew plans on throwing left-handed versus the Saints, solving the left tackle riddle is of the utmost importance as it’s always necessary to ensure the quarterback’s blindside is protected.

Hopefully, coaches Nick Sirianni and Jeff Stoutland will have Driscoll ready. He should be after taking first-team reps. The Mailatas are a rugby family, not a football family, but at six-foot-eight and 365 pounds, Jordan should be easy for them to locate. Maria and Tupa’i shouldn’t have to look all over the pitch to find their son.