Nick Sirianni isn’t backing away from the way the Eagles handled Landon Dickerson in the opener.
The left guard fought through a bone bruise in his knee during Sunday’s 24-22 win over the Commanders, then landed on Injured Reserve after the game. On Monday, Dickerson was blunt about how he performed, saying in an interview on WIP that he “played like bleep” and “was a complete liability,” while also revealing the injury began several weeks earlier in training camp.
By Wednesday, Sirianni was making the case that the Eagles were operating without the full picture in real time.
“Everybody in that first game had some good plays and had some bad plays, and he was doing some really good things as well,” he said. “And after the game (when he) got into the locker room, he was uncomfortable.
And that's where you do MRIs, and that's where we saw the bone bruise. That's kind of how it went.”
That was the crux of Sirianni’s explanation: Dickerson was practicing, the team didn’t know the severity until after the game, and his track record made it hard to pull him early. The three-time Pro Bowl left guard has spent much of his Eagles career battling through injuries, but from 2022 through 2024 he became one of the league’s best at his position. He also became the first Eagles offensive lineman ever to make three Pro Bowls in his first four seasons, and the first Eagle at any position to do it since Donovan McNabb from 2000 through 2002.
That history, Sirianni said, shaped the team’s thinking.
“You gain this comfort (level),” he said. “You're comfortable with him because of how many times he's played through just him being uncomfortable because he's so tough. And so that's kind of how that kind of went about.”
Sirianni also said Dickerson never showed up on the injury report because the bone bruise didn’t cost him any practice time.
“He was practicing everything,” he said. “And he came in with being uncomfortable after the game. That's when we did the MRI, and that's where we saw it.”
Now the Eagles have a different problem: figuring out who fills the spot moving forward. Sirianni didn’t tip his hand on whether the answer is Drew Kendall, Willie Lampkin, or a shuffle that moves Cam Jurgens from center to left guard.
Kendall was the backup throughout training camp, while Lampkin also had a strong summer. Jurgens has NFL experience at guard, including 12 starts at right guard in 2023.
Sirianni did make it clear he likes the options on hand.
“I was really pleased with Drew's preseason,” he said. “I was really pleased with Willie Lampkin's preseason, Markel (Bell), Fred (Johnson), Micah (Morris), all those guys have the ability to be able to do some things there.
And we have flexibility to how we need to rotate it around and where we need to be. But yeah, excited about the depth that we have there.”
Dickerson has still managed to stay on the field more often than not despite the long injury history. Since the Eagles drafted him early in the second round in 2021, he has played 89 of a possible 96 games.
“Like I said to Landon, there hasn't been many games that I've been the head coach here that he wasn't playing football for us,” Sirianni said. “So obviously, going to miss him like crazy. But really excited about that room and the depth of that room and where we are there.”
The Eagles now turn to Sunday’s trip to Nashville, where they’ll face the 0-1 Titans at Nissan Stadium. Tennessee opened with a 23-10 home loss to the Jets.
In Other News...
Eagles Suddenly Have A Big Chance To Solve A Costly Problem
Landon Dickersons injury has opened a familiar kind of door for the Eagles, the kind that can matter just as much to the cap sheet as it does to the lineup. With one of their most important interior linemen expected to miss at least four games, Philadelphia suddenly has a live test for Drew Kendall, the 2025 fifth-round pick who has been cross-training at guard and now gets a real chance to show he can handle it in game action.
For a team that has poured major money into its defense, finding dependable offensive line production from younger, cheaper players is more than a convenience, it is a necessity. If Kendall holds up, the Eagles could be looking at a long-term answer in a spot where proven depth is usually expensive, and this stretch now becomes a significant evaluation period for a player the organization already views as someone who could start down the line. [Read more 🡒]
Eagles Suddenly Have A Cooper DeJean Concern After Rough Debut
Cooper DeJeans first NFL game already came with plenty to unpack, and now it has created a health question for the Eagles as well. The rookie defensive back missed Wednesdays practice because of an undisclosed injury he picked up in Week 1 against the Washington Commanders, and defensive coordinator Vic Fangio confirmed DeJean was dinged during the game.
For Philadelphia, the timing is less than ideal. DeJean had a rough debut, giving up several big plays and drawing penalties, and his availability for Week 2 against the Tennessee Titans is now uncertain. The Eagles were already sorting through the ups and downs of a young player getting thrown into the fire, and now they have to monitor whether he can get back on the field in time to help clean it up. [Read more 🡒]
Eagles Already Have A Backfield Question Behind Saquon Barkley
Saquon Barkley remains the clear engine of the Eagles backfield, and he looked the part against Washington. But the more intriguing storyline tucked behind his workload is the uncertainty over who, exactly, is next in line if Philadelphia needs help at running back. Tank Bigsby entered the game listed as the primary backup, yet his role never quite matched that billing, leaving the depth chart looking a little more fluid than the team likely expected.
Kenneth Shipley wound up drawing more attention than Bigsby, even though he was initially viewed as a candidate to get cut. His heavier usage and visible impact suggest the Eagles may have more to sort through at the position than just Barkleys workload management. For a team that wants stability behind its featured back, the early answer is not nearly as settled as the depth chart made it seem. [Read more 🡒]