Eagles left tackle Andre Dillard suffered a bicep injury during Thursday's practice, and while the seriousness is not yet known, there is some fear there might be a tear, according to long-time Eagles insider Derek Gunn.
Dillard appeared to suffer the injury during one-on-one drills towards the beginning of practice. Dillard took a one-on-one rep against Josh Sweat, and needed to be looked at trainers after. He then went into the locker room and did not return.
Dillard has been in-and-out of practice throughout training camp due to upper-body injuries.
How long Dillard will be out remains to be seen. The Eagles, who have Friday off, do not practice again until Saturday. The team opens their season in 17 days, so if Dillard does indeed have a tear in his bicep, the chances of him starting the season are extremely slim. If it is a full tear it is possible his entire season could be in jeopardy.
If Dillard is out, it will be interesting to see what the Eagles do.
The obvious option is to move Jason Peters over to left tackle, the position he has played at a Hall of Fame level his entire career. The Eagles could then put Matt Pryor in at right guard. The other option would be to keep Peters at guard and start Jordan Mailata, who has been taking the first-team reps when Dillard has been sidelined during camp.
If Dillard is out long-term, there is little doubt that the team will move Peters to left tackle. If it is a short-term injury, and he could return by either Week 1 or shortly after, they might decide to give Mailata a try.
Taking it a step further, it would be very interesting to see what the Eagles would do if they did play Peters at left tackle, and he played at high level. Would they put Dillard back in when he was healthy? Would they be quick to pull him if it was an obvious drop off from Peters?
What will happen remains to be seen, but as the season quickly approaches, one thing is clear — the Eagles have not had this many questions along the offensive line in years.
You can reach Eliot Shorr-Parks on Twitter at @EliotShorrParks or email him at esp@94wip.com!
