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According to Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Eagles starting right tackle Allen Barbre has suffered a high ankle sprain. ESPN NFL Insider Adam Caplan confirmed McLane's report and offered more information regarding a recovery time-table:
Update on #Eagles T/G Allen Barbre: Injury turned out worse than 1st expected. As @Jeff_McLane noted, it's a high ankle injury.
— Adam Caplan (@caplannfl) September 8, 2014
The hope is that it's not more than 4-6 weeks, source said. He's expected to see a specialist to evaluate the injury.
— Adam Caplan (@caplannfl) September 8, 2014
Barbre played 33 snaps in the Eagles' 34-17 win over the Jaguars before leaving the game with an injury. There was originally some optimism on Sunday night that Barbre's injury may not have been serious. So much for that.
Barbre has been starting for the Eagles at right tackle due the suspension status of second-year offensive tackle Lane Johnson. Johnson is serving a four-game suspension and won't be able to return to the team until Monday, September 29th.
As for the injury status of starting left guard Evan Mathis, the Eagles are still waiting on the results of his MRI. Initial reports have indicated that it's not a season-ending injury but it's still expected that Mathis will miss time. Stay tuned for updates.
With Johnson, Barbre, and Mathis potentially all out, the Eagles are obviously counting on their depth offensive lineman to step up. Here's what the team's offensive line looked like against the Jaguars following the injuries to Mathis and Barbre:
LT: Jason Peters
LG: David Molk
C: Jason Kelce
RG: Todd Herremans
RT: Andrew Gardner
The Eagles also have third-year guard/tackle Dennis Kelly on the roster, who was inactive versus Jackonsville. Two offensive lineman reside on Philadelphia's practice squad. Both were undrafted rookie free agents: guard/center Josh Andrews and tackle Kevin Graf.
While Philadelphia may have avoided the worst-case scenario of season-ending injuries, they will be forced to get by with lesser options in the meantime.