Andre Dillard, K'Von Wallace Suffer Week-to-Week Injuries
PHILADELPHIA – These short practices Nick Sirianni is putting his team through in training camp hasn’t seemed to aid the overall health of the team, yet.
The Eagles practiced for 80 minutes in shells on Tuesday, but that didn’t stop them from losing two key players for what has been designated week-to-week injuries. Another player had to be carted into the locker room and was waived-injured a short time later.
The two players now week-to-week are left tackle Andre Dillard and safety K’Von Wallace. Receiver Michael Walker was released and Marken Michel was signed to take his place.
With Dillard now out for an extended period with a knee sprain – the same injury that has sidelined rookie DeVonta Smith for nearly two weeks - the left tackle competition has ended.
At least for now.
Jordan Mailata will be the presumptive starting left tackle against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Thursday night’s preseason opener with Brett Toth and perhaps Matt Pryor and Jack Driscoll serving as the backups.
It is Mailata’s job to lose now, though don’t expect the 6-8, 380-pound behemoth to rest on his laurels.
“Every year it’s been a competition for me,” he said last week. “First thing for me is to just make this team. That’s always been my approach and it always will be going forward.”
Dillard suffered a season-ending biceps tear in last summer’s training camp and missed the season. A knee sprain shouldn’t cost him his 2021 campaign, but it’s not a good sign that, for the second year in a row with a chance to grab the starting job, he has failed to take advantage.
Jason Peters had to be removed from the experiment that tried to make him a guard to cover for Dillard last year. This season, Mailata is a proven commodity based on a solid 2020 season.
As for Wallace, the second-year safety from Clemson, suffered a groin strain. He was having a nice camp, getting plenty of first-team reps and had a real opportunity to earn playing time in the preseason and carry that into the regular season, especially with Rodney McLeod’s availability still unclear as he continues his rehab from a torn ACL last season.
Wallace will have to wait for a chance to play the first preseason game of his young career for when the New England Patriots visit on Aug. 19 or when the Eagles visit the New York Jets on Aug. 27. Last year’s draft class had to go without the benefit of exhibition games due to the global pandemic.
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Marcus Epps has had a solid camp, but now it appears as if his role will increase.
The third-year safety, ironically, was asked about the shorter Sirianni practices following Tuesday's practice, and if there was a physical benefit to them, with his body feeling better than it normally would after 11 days of camp.
"Yeah, definitely," he said. "I think the coaching staff has done a great job of taking care of us, really being aware of us the players and how their bodies are feeling, trying to make sure everybody is staying healthy and ready to go."
If so, that hasn't quite manifested itself.
In addition to Dillard, Wallace, and Smith, others listed as week-to-week are John Hightower (groin), JaCoby Stevens (hamstring), Davion Taylor (calf), and Casey Tucker (biceps).
Also, neither Brandon Brooks nor Isaac Seumalo has yet to be full participants in quite some time. Brooks suffered a hamstring strain on Day 1; Seumlao has yet to be a full-go in any camp practice, also with a hamstring issue.
Walker, meanwhile, had been an early standout in camp but was sidelined with a foot injury. He was a limited participant on Tuesday, and tried to go, but had to be removed from the field not long after practice began.
Michel was with the Eagles in their 2019 training camp and had a good showing.
In his first preseason game that summer, he was on the receiving end of a 75-yard touchdown strike from Nate Sudfeld. The speedster, and brother of Patriots RB Sony Michel, finished the preseason with four catches for 117 yards but was one of the team’s final cuts.
Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Eagle Maven and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglemaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.
