On Tuesday, the Eagles placed offensive guard Landon Dickerson on injured reserve with a right knee injury. The three-time Pro Bowler will miss at least four games.
With Dickerson on IR, the Eagles could turn to OG Drew Kendall. The 24-year-old has made one start in two NFL seasons.
They could also plug in C/G Willie Lampkin. Like Kendall, Lampkin is 24 years old and playing in his second NFL season.
Both Kendall and Lampkin reportedly performed well during training camp.
Eagles offensive coordinator Sean Mannion is confident that both players can get the job done.
“We feel really confident with all of our guys,” Mannion said on Tuesday. “It’s unfortunate with Landon; the guy’s a warrior, and we’ve got to get him healthy. In the meantime, we need guys to step up, but Drew’s had a really nice camp. [C/G] Willie [Lampkin]’s had a nice camp. Really, we have a lot of guys on our offensive line with a lot of position flexibility and versatility. We feel good about all of them. Obviously, Landon will be missed in the meantime, but we feel confident that guys are going to be able to step up and fill the void.”
Another possibility would be moving center Cam Jurgens to guard and using Lampkin or Kendall at center, but Mannion would not reveal the plan.
“We’re going to keep that in-house in terms of what our plan is for this week, just for competitive reasons,” Mannion said. “Like I said, we have a lot of guys up front that can play multiple spots. We’ve been training them at all spots, so [that] gives us some flexibility there.”
Dickerson struggled against the Commanders, particularly as a run blocker and in pass protection, and the knee injury appeared to limit his movement.
The Eagles hope Dickerson returns healthy and regains his usual form. In the meantime, Kendall and Lampkin will have an opportunity to prove they can stabilize the offensive line.
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