Philadelphia Eagles’ All-Pro guard Evan Mathis has a sprained MCL, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. The starting left guard for the Eagles’ will be out for extended periods, but not for the entire season. The MRI reveled that his recovery time could span from four to eight weeks.
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The injury is such a length that the Eagles might be best served to place him on Injured Reserve-designated to return, which would keep him off the roster for eight weeks. During that time, they could place someone else on the roster — potentially another offensive lineman.
The Inquirer also reported that Allen Barbre has a high ankle sprain. Babre is typically a backup but was filling in for suspended Lane Johnson at tackle. Babre will see a foot specialist. Matt Tobin is also out with injury.
The next best players are Andrew Gardner and Dennis Kelly. They are expected to step up. If they can’t, then the Eagles may begin shopping free agency for a replacement. The best guard available — from a football standpoint — is probably Richie Incognito. The Eagles may not want to undergo that headache in signing the NFL’s biggest bully (and racist with anger issues).
The Eagles are in desperate times for offensive line. They showed just how good and bad they can play during their game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, overcoming a 17-0 deficit to get a 34-17 win. Ironically, Mathis went down in the second quarter and Foles stared to heat up after that.
Still, if they want to see the Nick Foles that fumbles and throws interceptions, then they’ll stick with the line as it is. If the want to see the Foles that brings that back from the depths, then the may have to make some adjustments.