Eagles place Isaac Seumalo on injured reserve, designate four practice squad protections

The Philadelphia Eagles placed starting left guard Isaac Seumalo on injured reserve, according to an official announcement from the team. The Eagles now have an open roster spot to fill.

This move was expected. Doug Pederson had said on Monday that Seumalo is going to miss “some time” after suffering a knee injury during the Eagles’ Week 2 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.

Injuries have obviously been a big issue for the Eagles’ offensive line this year. The team lost starting right guard Brandon Brooks to an Achilles tear in June. Andre Dillard suffered a season-ending biceps injury during an August training camp practice. Starting right tackle Lane Johnson missed Week 1 due to a recently ankle surgery and is admittedly playing at less than 100%. Now Seumalo will miss at least three games ... if not longer.

Matt Pryor was the first guy up to replace Seumalo against the Rams. One would think he’ll continue to line up there, though Sua Opeta and Jamon Brown are waiting in the wings if he struggles. It’s also worth noting that 2020 fourth-round pick Jack Driscoll has some college experience at left guard.

To recap, here’s an overview of the Eagles’ currently starting offensive line:

Left tackle — Jason Peters
Left guard — Matt Pryor
Center — Jason Kelce
Right guard — Nate Herbig
Right tackle — Lane Johnson

Jordan Mailata is seemingly the top backup at left tackle with Driscoll in line behind Johnson. Opeta and Brown are the interior depth options.

Despite all the injuries, the Eagles’ offensive line held up pretty well in Week 2 with zero sacks and just three quarterback hits allowed. We’ll see if they can keep it up.

In other news, the Eagles designated their four practice squad protections for this week. They are: wide receiver Deontay Burnett, center Luke Juriga, defensive tackle T.Y. McGill, and safety Grayland Arnold.

Burnett has now been protected three times this season. Doug Pederson said the Eagles can only protect the same player up to four times so he only has one week remaining in that regard.

Juriga is being protected for the first time. That makes sense because Seumalo was the top backup center if something were to happen to Kelce. Now it’s not perfectly clear who that would be. Maybe Opeta? Or the Eagles could move Herbig to center and plug Brown in at right guard? Or they could call up Juriga to the 54- or 55-man roster and have him around to provide center depth.

Arnold getting protected is interesting. The Eagles used a protection on Trevor Williams last week ahead of calling him up to be their fifth cornerback. Might the younger Arnold be getting a call up instead?

Williams and Joe Ostman did not receive a protection for the first time this season.

See below for a current look at the Eagles’ 2020 practice squad.

WR Deontay Burnett (protected) [3/4]

C Luke Juriga (protected) [1/4]

DT T.Y. McGill (protected) [2/4]

S Grayland Arnold (protected) [1/4]

QB Josh McCown

RB Elijah Holyfield

RB Adrian Killins

WR Travis Fulgham

TE Caleb Wilson

TE Jordan Franks

OT Prince Tega Wanogho

DE Joe Ostman [2/4]

DT Raequan Williams

CB Trevor Williams [2/4]

S Elijah Riley

DE Matt Leo (international spot - doesn’t count towards limit)