Eagles Down Two Key Starters At Practice

Pro Bowl center Cam Jurgens was absent from Thursday's practice at Lincoln Financial Field and Dallas Goedert was observing only.
Philadelphia Eagles center Cam Jurgens (51) and guard Landon Dickerson (69).
Philadelphia Eagles center Cam Jurgens (51) and guard Landon Dickerson (69). / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
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PHILADELPHIA - Two important Eagles starters were unable to practice Thursday as Philadelphia continued preparation for Sunday's NFC Championship Game against the Washington Commanders.

Center Cam Jurgens (back) was not at the portion of the practice held at Lincoln Financial Field open to the media and he was replaced by left guard Landon Dickerson, an All-American center in college at Alabama, during individual drills.

Second-year backup Tyler Steen got the left guard work, a position where Dickerson was named second-team All-Pro this season.

Tight end Dallas Goedert (ankle) was at the session but did not have his helmet and was not participating. He did catch some passes on the side while the rest of the team was warming up.

Both Jurgens, a first -time Pro Bowl selection this season, and Goedert were estimated as not participating at a Wednesday walkthrough to start the week.

If Jurgens is unable to play Sunday, the Eagles’ offensive line would most likely be from left to right: Jordan Mailata, Steen, Dickerson, Mekhi Becton, and Lane Johnson.

Goedert missed seven games this season, first with a hamstring injury and then a sprained knee, but returned for the Week 18 win over the New York Giants and has been the Eagles leading receiving through the first two games of this postseason with eight receptions for 103 yards and a touchdown.

If Goedert can’t go, backup Grant Calcaterra would be the TE1 in this game.

The Eagles signaled concerns with both players with their two practice squad moves Wednesday, bringing in 32-year-old veteran Cam Erving, who has experience at center, and tight end Nick Muse.

All of the Eagles who were listed as limited to start the week were practicing on Thursday: quarterback Jalen Hurts (knee), cornerback Quinyon Mitchell (shoulder), receiver AJ Brown (knee/rest), receiver Britain Covey (neck), Johnson (knee/rest), and edge rusher Josh Sweat (ankle/rest).

Both Hurts and Mitchell have said they expect to play after injuries in last week's divisional-round win over the Los Angeles Rams. Hurts was wearing loose sweats, probably purposefully, making it difficult to see if the QB had a brace on his left knee.

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John McMullen
JOHN MCMULLEN

John McMullen is a veteran reporter who has covered the NFL for over two decades. The current NFL insider for JAKIB Media, John is the former NFL Editor for The Sports Network where his syndicated column was featured in over 200 outlets including the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, and Miami Herald. He was also the national NFL columnist for Today's Pigskin as well as FanRag Sports. McMullen has covered the Eagles on a daily basis since 2016, first for ESPN South Jersey and now for Eagles Today on SI.com's FanNation. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube.com. John is also the host of his own show "Extending the Play" on AM1490 in South Jersey and part of 6ABC.com's live postgame show after every Eagles game. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen