Eagles Cannot Afford to Trade Andre Dillard

Trevor Penning’s foot. Tyron Smith’s knee.

Two key injuries to two important left tackles for the Saints and Cowboys, respectively.

And that is exactly why the Eagles should not trade Andre Dillard.

There aren’t many teams in the NFL equipped to spackle the hole left when a player at one of the most important positions in the game has to miss extended time.

The Eagles are one of those teams.

If Jordan Mailata goes down, like he did with a knee sprain for two games last year in Weeks 4 and 5, who steps in if Dillard is dealt?

It would probably be Le’Raven Clark, but he isn’t as good as Dillard.

Though some portion of Eagles fans think Dillard is a bust, he’s not. He is limited in that he has no versatility to play anywhere else, but as a left tackle, he is above average.

Who are the other candidates if not Clark?

Brett Toth may be the best of the group, but he was placed in Reserve PUP and must sit for a minimum of four regular-season games before being eligible for activation. Who knows if that will be enough time for him to be fully rehabbed from the ACL tear he suffered in last year’s regular-season finale?

Jack Driscoll might be able to do it, but he has his hands full trying to be the backup to Lane Johnson at right tackle.

The Eagles have tried last year’s undrafted free agent Kayode Awosika and an undrafted free agent this year, Josh Stills, at left tackle, at various points this summer.

Honestly, though, Dillard is better than any of them.

Remember in 2017 when Jason Peters went down with a season-ending knee injury in Week 7 of 2017?

The Eagles had Halapoulivaati Vaitai waiting in the wings.

If Vaitai had not been on the roster, the Eagles would have had to likely turn to Will Beatty, who played one game that year but picked up a Super Bowl ring from the Eagles, anyway, for being on the roster.

It’s a long list of players who did their part in helping the Eagles secure their first Super Bowl title that season, and Vaitai is on that list.

It’s understandable to think it makes sense to trade Dillard because he is in the final year of his contract. And it does. Not just now.

Perhaps at the trade deadline, GM Howie Roseman will possibly look to trade him.

That, of course, would depend on Mailata, if he is healthy, and also on Toth.

If Toth is capable of returning sometime in October and instilling some confidence in the coaching staff that he would be a capable backup to Mailata over the final two months, then GM Howie Roseman could potentially try to trade Dillard.

Maybe then, but not now.

Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Fan Nation Eagles Today and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglesmaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.