Eagles O-Line Suddenly Faces A Bigger Problem Than Fans Expected

With Drew Kendall missing practice, the Eagles scramble to patch a depleted offensive line ahead of their clash with the Jaguars.

The Eagles’ offensive line is hanging by a thread, and Thursday brought another troubling development.

Drew Kendall missed his second straight practice with a knee injury he picked up in the loss to the Rams. Kendall has started the last three games at center in place of Cam Jurgens, but he was not on the field during the portion of practice open to the media Thursday.

That doesn’t lock him out of Sunday’s game against the Jaguars, but missing the first two days of the practice week is hardly a good sign. The Eagles are set to practice in South Philadelphia on Friday before heading to London.

The injury picture up front is already brutal. The Eagles are without three Pro Bowl offensive linemen: right tackle Lane Johnson, who announced his immediate retirement on Tuesday; Cam Jurgens, who was traded to the Ravens on Wednesday; and Landon Dickerson, who is still another week away from being eligible to return from Injured Reserve.

If Kendall can’t go, the Eagles are down to two possible paths, and both would force first career starts for two players. Jake Majors, who is currently on the practice squad, could step in at center with Willie Lampkin moving to left guard. Or Lampkin could take over at center, with rookie sixth-round pick Micah Morris at left guard.

None of those three has ever played a regular-season snap on the offensive line.

Lampkin has appeared in all four games, but only for two offensive snaps and 19 special teams snaps. Morris has played in two games, logging one offensive snap and five on special teams.

Majors spent last season on the practice squad and has never played an NFL snap. The Eagles already have rookie Markel Bell at right tackle, and the rookie third-round pick made his first career start Sunday.

The team also had undrafted rookie James Brockermeyer, who spent the summer with the Falcons, and Kiran Amegadjie, a third-round pick of the Bears in 2024, taking interior line reps Wednesday. The Eagles signed Amegadjie to the practice squad on Sept. 1 and added Brockermeyer to the practice squad Wednesday.

No matter how they shuffle the pieces, the Eagles are staring at three offensive line starters who have made one or fewer career starts. The last time that happened was Week 1 of the 1944 season, when Bruno Banducci, Bob Friedman and Bap Manzini each made their first career start in the Eagles’ 28-7 win over the Boston Yanks at Fenway Park.

There were other injury notes, too. DeVonta Smith, who missed Sunday’s game, was not practicing Wednesday but was on a side field Thursday working with a trainer and running. There was still no sign of Saquon Barkley, who is dealing with a hamstring injury, or Jonathan Greenard, who has an ankle injury.

Linebacker Jihaad Campbell, who sat out Wednesday with a knee injury, was on the field Thursday with his helmet, suggesting he would at least be involved in some capacity.

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