Eagles place Jordan Mailata on injured reserve, sign practice squad linebacker

Well, here’s some more unexpected injury news: the Philadelphia Eagles are placing rookie offensive tackle Jordan Mailata on injured reserve.

The full extent of Mailata’s injury is currently unknown but we do know he did not practice on Thursday due to a back issue.

It’s pretty unusual that Mailata suffered a season-ending injury despite not playing a single snap this season. As a depth player, I can’t imagine he gets a ton of practice reps.

Unfortunately, “unusual” is a word that describes a number of Eagles injury situations this year, which is why questions are being raised about the team’s medical staff.

This Mailata news is a bummer because there was hope that he might be able to get his first NFL regular season snaps against Washington in Week 17. The Eagles might be officially eliminated from the playoffs by that point.

Hopefully Mailata’s injury isn’t one that will cause him to miss offseason time. The 21-year-old showed intriguing upside during the 2018 preseason. Mailata needs all the reps he can get as he tries to master the craft of playing offensive tackle.

Mailata is now the 13th player on the Eagles’ injured reserve list this season. (Read more about him in this great profile from BGN’s Benjamin Solak.)

In a corresponding roster move, the Eagles promoted linebacker B.J. Bello from the practice squad. Bello origially signed with Philadelphia back in mid-October. The Eagles needed more linebacker depth with Jordan Hicks missing time.

RESERVE/PHYSICALLY UNABLE TO PERFORM

S Chris Maragos

RESERVE/INJURED

RB Jay Ajayi

DE Derek Barnett

CB Elie Bouka

RB Corey Clement

CB Ronald Darby

WR Mack Hollins

OT Jordan Mailata

S Rodney McLeod

CB Jalen Mills

TE Joshua Perkins

DE Josh Sweat

WR Mike Wallace

LB Paul Worrilow

The Eagles replaced Bello’s vacant spot on the practice squad by signing offensive guard Kaleb Johnson. The Rutgers alumnus originally signed with the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted rookie in 2015 (Joe Douglas connection). Johnson is 25 years old and measures in at 6-4, 320 pounds.

Here’s an updated look at the Eagles’ practice squad:

OG Kaleb Johnson

CB Josh Hawkins

CB Jeremiah McKinnon

OL Anthony Fabiano

TE Will Tye

RB Donnel Pumphrey

LB Asantay Brown

WR Braxton Miller

WR Dorren Miller

DE Joe Ostman