Skip to content
Eagles
Link copied to clipboard

Eagles place backup tackle Andre Dillard on injured reserve

Dillard, 26, will be out at least the first four games after suffering a non-displaced fracture in his forearm last week at practice.

Eagles offensive tackle Andre Dillard will miss at least the first four games after being placed on injured reserve on Tuesday.
Eagles offensive tackle Andre Dillard will miss at least the first four games after being placed on injured reserve on Tuesday.Read moreYONG KIM / Staff Photographer
    by EJ Smith
    Published 

The Eagles placed Andre Dillard on injured reserve Tuesday, sidelining the backup left tackle for at least four games.

Dillard suffered a non-displaced fracture in his forearm in practice last week and further testing determined he’d miss four to six weeks, according to an NFL Network report.

» READ MORE: A.J. Brown on Jalen Hurts: ‘I’m ready to go to war for him’

In Dillard’s absence, Jack Driscoll and Le’Raven Clark will serve as the Eagles’ top two reserves if Jordan Mailata or Lane Johnson miss time early in the season, although offensive coordinator Shane Steichen refused to reveal any specifics regarding the depth chart during a Tuesday news conference.

“I think we have a plan for that,” Steichen said. “I’d rather keep that in-house, to be honest, going forward. For competitive advantage reasons, we want to keep that in-house, but we feel good with the group we have backing up.”

Dillard played well as the team’s top reserve tackle last season. He appeared in five games, two of which he spent relieving an injured Mailata, two when Johnson missed time and Mailata switched to the right side, and one against the Cowboys in a meaningless Week 18 game.

Considering the commodification of starting-quality left tackles, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Dillard, a 2019 first-round pick by the Eagles, was reportedly the subject of trade talks last offseason. He acknowledged it is difficult to serve as a backup even though he views himself as a starting-caliber tackle, but said it was a chance to reflect.

“I’m not going to lie. It was hard at first. It was a lot,” Dillard said after the Eagles’ preseason win against the Cleveland Browns on Aug. 21. “I had to look deep within myself last year and figure out: What are you going to be from here on? How are you going to react to this situation, these cards that you’ve been dealt?”

Inquirer Eagles beat reporters EJ Smith and Josh Tolentino preview the team’s season opener against the Detroit Lions. Watch at Inquirer.com/EaglesGameday