Eagles defensive line already shorthanded after pair of injuries

The Eagles defensive line is already without two key contributors heading into the season

Any “week-to-week” injury designation at this point in training camp is not a welcomed sight, especially with the NFL season less than a month away. For Philadelphia, it comes at a position of need, and to two players they’d rather not have on the shelf.

Javon Hargrave, a defensive tackle picked up this offseason from the Pittsburgh Steelers, has a history of injuries and is now forced out of action in the season’s lead-up thanks to an upper body ailment. Meanwhile, former first-round pick Derek Barnett is week-to-week with a lower body injury.

Despite the rather vague NHL-style injury report from Eagles coach Doug Pederson, these are serious issues to have at this point in camp.

What do the injuries to Hargrave and Barnett mean for the Eagles defensive line depth?

The return of Malik Jackson, and the continued presence of Fletcher Cox, means the Eagles still have enough star power on their defensive line to manufacture some pressure by rotating in whoever necessary. Just ask defensive line coach Matt Burke, who remains excited about this group.

“I’m excited about all those guys. To have the closest path of the quarterback is the A-gap, and you can get interior pressure with those guys,” Burke said, per NJ.com. “That tends to affect quarterbacks a lot. To have three-plus accomplished guys that have shown they can win in those interior rushes is going to be huge.”

Vinny Curry is likely to get playing time with Barnett out, with Josh Sweat getting some reps as well. It’s not an ideal scenario for the Eagles depth at the position to be tested this early, but there’s a reason Howie Roseman bulked up on the DL this offseason with the signing of Hargrave.