The Eagles will be without Jordan Mailata for at least a month.
Mailata, who suffered a serious hamstring injury in the fourth quarter of the Eagles’ win over the Browns Sunday, was placed on Injured Reserve Friday, which means he’ll miss at least four games.
The earliest the star left tackle could return is Nov. 14 for a Thursday night game against the Commanders at the Linc. Washington is the only one of the Eagles’ next six opponents that currently has a winning record.
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Although Mailata spent time on IR with back injuries his first two seasons – 2018 and 2019 – this is the first time since he began playing in 2020 that he’s suffered a significant injury.
Since 2020, he’s played in 72 of a possible 77 games and established himself as one of the top left tackles in the NFL despite never playing organized football before the Eagles drafted him in the seventh round in 2018.
He’s a two-time Pro Football Focus all-pro, and through Week 6 he was PFF’s top-rated offensive tackle with an 88.4 grade with nobody else over 83.3.
With Mailata out, veteran journeyman Fred Johnson is expected to start at left tackle, although the Eagles do have the option of swinging Mekhi Becton out to left tackle and using Tyler Steen at right guard.
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“It's next man up,” left guard Landon Dickerson said. “I miss Jordan. When he was there we built a good relationship but I also (have) a good relationship with Fred. Fred is a very large human, very athletic gifted guy. So I'm excited to see what he can do.”
With a roster spot open, the Eagles could activate 2nd-year safety Sydney Brown, who is still technically on the Physically Unable to Perform list but just finished his second week of practice after the Eagles opened his practice window on Oct. 7.
Mailata got hurt Sunday on a 1st-and-10 five minutes into the fourth quarter, a six-yard Saquon Barkley run. He was on crutches following the game but was in the locker room this week walking gingerly but without crutches.
Since he became a starter, the Eagles are 1-4 when Mailata doesn’t play, with the win coming in October 2022 against the Cards at State Farm Stadium. That's the last game Mailata missed. Since then, he's started a team-high 38 consecutive games.
In his absence, Jalen Hurts will take over with the longest streak of consecutive starts with 27. He last missed a game in Week 17 of 2022 against the Saints. Next-longest is Jordan Davis’s 22-game streak.
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