The Eagles placed starting left guard Landon Dickerson on injured reserve Monday according to a league source, sidelining the 27-year-old one day after an ugly individual performance in the team’s 24-22 win over the Washington Commanders.
The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane was first to report the news.
Here are three thoughts, including who the likely replacement will be on the offensive line, about the move:
Dickerson’s Day
Dickerson had arguably the worst game of his career in the Eagles’ season-opening win over Washington and, according to a league source, has been playing through serious pain in his knee. Dickerson said during a radio broadcast on 94.1 WIP that he suffered a bone bruise getting rolled up on during training camp. The injury came after an offseason where speculation grew about whether the 27-year-old would decide on an early retirement.
Dickerson did not speak to reporters after Sunday’s win. Eagles left tackle Jordan Mailata said his linemate had left the locker room by the time Mailata got back from a postgame shower.
It was the type of game Dickerson would have wanted to forget. He gave up a handful of pressures against the Commanders and was at least partially to blame for one sack midway through the first quarter when Washington linebacker Frankie Luvu got past him and Mailata on a twist stunt that tested Dickerson’s athleticism.
Dickerson traveled to Colombia for stem-cell treatment after battling a litany of injuries last season. During training camp, he also acknowledged playing through injuries for the duration of his career — one that’s featured serious knee and ankle injuries that date back to college — had taken a significant toll on him. On Sunday, that toll was impossible to ignore. Once a former Pro Bowler, Dickerson spent most of the game off balance and struggling to stay engaged on blocks both in the run game and in pass protection. According to Pro Football Focus, Dickerson allowed four pressures and a sack.
Now the Eagles will give Dickerson a chance to recuperate physically with the hopes that some time away can help him return to the level he’s played at for most of his career.
Speaking during a radio show on 94.1 WIP shortly after the news of the team’s decision surfaced, Dickerson acknowledged his struggles on Sunday and said the plan is for him to recover from an injury suffered in practice to be ready for the “back stretch of the season,” according to The Athletic’s Zach Berman.
Kendall coming in
I’d expect Drew Kendall to get the nod to start in Dickerson’s place this Sunday against the Tennessee Titans.
Eagles general manager Howie Roseman offered a now-telling admission during a news conference last month closing out training camp that, if he’d been given truth serum going into the summer, he’d have said the interior offensive line depth was the thing he was most worried about. Kendall, along with training camp darling Willie Lampkin and sixth-round rookie Micah Morris, each had strong enough camps to quiet that worry for Roseman and Kendall seems the most ready to jump up the depth chart.
“If any of you would’ve given me a truth serum and said, ‘What are you looking for in training camp?’ It would be how our interior offensive line depth panned out,” Roseman said. “Those young guys and the growth that they showed, their ability to play in the passing game, in the run game. I mean, really, really excited about those guys, about being able to have those guys, being able to develop those guys, but at the same time, have confidence that if those guys need to play, that they’re ready to play.”
Back in the spring, a few members of the organization expressed optimism about Kendall taking a big step in his second year. The 2025 fifth-round pick out of Boston College showed encouraging signs transitioning from being a college center to learning all three interior line spots as a rookie and hit the ground running in training camp as well.
An interesting note from McLane’s report was the potential that a change at center could follow the decision to shelf Dickerson. Kendall’s gotten praise behind the scenes for his ability to read defense pre-snap, something the Eagles have struggled with at times with Cam Jurgens at center. Especially considering Jurgens has significantly more experience cross-training at guard in the NFL with a season-full of starts playing there, perhaps the Eagles would consider moving Jurgens over to facilitate Kendall
That’s not to say Lampkin didn’t also have an encouraging summer, but he probably projects cleaner into the center position rather than at guard in the short-term. To that end, Kendall was almost exclusively the one to step in at left guard for Dickerson during training camp when the Eagles would hold the veteran lineman back for a few periods or an entire practice in an effort to manage his workload.
What’s next?
Telling this chapter of Dickerson’s story requires a more comprehensive view than just one game and one ensuing roster move. Dickerson came into the NFL with serious injury concerns and recovering from a torn ACL suffered during his final year at Alabama, both of which affected his draft stock.
From the time he made a full recovery as a rookie in 2021 to the end of the 2024 season, Dickerson earned a reputation as one of the toughest players on the team and hardly missed a snap despite a serious knee injury during the team’s postseason run in 2024. Several of his teammates said after Super Bowl LIX that they had no idea how Dickerson was able to play through the injury.
Dickerson’s willingness to play on then, or last season when he suffered a torn meniscus at the tail end of training camp should not go overlooked now. And if he is unable to return to the level he’s spent most of his career at, it will be because of his willingness to sacrifice his own health.
From a long-term perspective, Dickerson agreed to a restructured contract that removed the final year of the four-year $84 million deal he signed in 2024. It was an agreement that signaled he may not play beyond this upcoming season, something that seems all the more likely after this decision.
