A big step forward in Jordan Mailata’s return originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The Eagles opened the 21-day practice window for Jordan Mailata on Monday, opening up the possibility that their star left tackle could return to action as soon as Thursday night.
Mailata suffered a serious hamstring injury early in the fourth quarter of the Eagles’ win over the Browns and spent the last four games on Injured Reserve. The minimum number of games a player has to miss on IR is four and by opening his practice window the Eagles will get to see Mailata on the practice field without him counting against the 53-man roster.
The Eagles, who improved to 7-2 Sunday and moved into first place in the NFC East with a win in Dallas, are scheduled for a walkthrough on Tuesday, their only practice this week before facing the 7-3 Commanders at the Linc Thursday night on national TV.
Mailata, now in his seventh season and fifth as a starter, is the 3rd-highest-graded offensive tackle in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus, with an 88.4 grade through five games. He trails only five-time Pro Bowl left tackle Terron Armstead of the Dolphins (91.1) and 2023 1st-team all-pro right tackle Penei Sewell of the Lions (89.4).
The Eagles went 4-0 without Mailata, with Fred Johnson starting all four games at left tackle. When Mailata got hurt, the score was 13-13 so the Eagles actually were 5-0 with Johnson in the lineup.
Right tackle Lane Johnson missed most of the Saints game and all of the Bucs game with a concussion and Mekhi Becton missed most of the Saints game and all of the Bengals game.
The only games the Eagles have had all five starting offensive linemen for the entire game are the Packers and Falcons. They’re 6-1 when not at full strength on the o-line, a testament to Jeff Stoutland’s ability to get backups ready to play.
Mailata had only missed three games because of injury before this one. If he’s able to return, the Eagles should have their entire o-line intact for the first time since Week 2.
By opening Mailata’s practice window, the Eagles have 21 days to either activate him or shut him down for the year. They obviously will activate him, it’s just a question of whether that happens this week or next week.
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