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Isaac Seumalo's Season Over, as OL Injury Woes Continue

The left guard, who suffered a Lisfranc injury against Dallas and will have surgery that ends his season, joins another lengthy list of injured upfront after just Week 3
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ARLINGTON, Texas – Here we go again, it’s 2020 all over, like a visit to Groundhog Day with Bill Murray waiting around the next corner.

Isaac Seumalo’s season is over. He’s the Eagles’ left guard, and, yes, that’s a position on the offensive line. The same offensive line that helped ruin the Eagles a year ago and looks well on its way to spoiling this one, too.

Safety K’Von Wallace is expected to join Seumalo on Injured Reserve after suffering a separated shoulder. He is expected to miss anywhere from three to six weeks.

The return of veteran safety Rodney McLeod should be close at this point

What’s next, another four-win season?

It is trending that way, especially now with Seumalo becoming the third offensive lineman to suffer an injury after just three weeks of the season.

Right guard Brandon Brooks went on IR last week with a pectoral strain. His timetable to return isn’t known, but it figures to be at least six weeks and possibly eight.

Left tackle Jordan Mailata sprained a knee during practice last Thursday and former first-round pick Andre Dillard filled in for him during Sunday’s loss against the Dallas Cowboys.

Dillard seemed to hold up as well as could be expected.

Mailata’s return is unknown as well, but head coach Nick Sirianni said on Saturday that Mailata would not be put on IR.

This Sunday against Kansas City, the Eagles will start their second different offensive line combination.

Last year, there were 14 different versions of the starting line in 16 games, an NFL record.

The only one to say healthy during this injury plague has been center Jason Kelce, who made his 108th straight start on Sunday.

Video: Jason Kelce gets emotional when talking about Seumalo

“It’s the business,” said center Jason Kelce. “That’s the sport, especially offensive line. It’s a physical position, man. Bodies are falling all over the place. What do they say the injury rate in the NFL is 100 percent?”

Landon Dickerson can vouch for that.

The rookie has suffered an injury every year in college, from Florida State to Alabama.

Dickerson made his first start on Sunday, and there were plenty of downs and some ups as he adjusts to life in the NFL and at right guard, where he was filling in for Brandon Brooks, who went down in Week 2 against the San Francisco 49ers.

Seumalo suffered his injury late in the final quarter and was replaced by Nate Herbig.

Herbig made 12 starts last year but is considered more effective at right guard, where he played most last year when Brooks’ season ended before it started with an Achilles tear during a summer workout.

Of course, Dickerson played right guard against Dallas.

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Under previous head coach Doug Pederson, the Eagles did not like moving players around too much on the line, but, in this case, maybe the Eagles will put Dickerson at left guard and Herbig at right guard against the Chiefs.

Jack Driscoll could also be an option at guard, though he made four starts last year as a rookie at right tackle. He was trained at guard during camp.

Driscoll, however, was placed on Injured Reserve at the start of the season with a pectoral strain. He is eligible to return after missing the first three games.

Whatever decisions are made, the Eagles will have to do it when they return to practice on Wednesday since they are on a short week after playing Monday night then turning around and hosting the Chiefs on Sunday.

Sua Opeta could be another guard option after he was elevated d from the practice squad for Monday night’s game. He played eight games at guard last year with two starts.

Interestingly, when general manager Howie Roseman was asked by SI/com Eagle Maven at the start of training camp what sort of measuring stick he would use to determine Jalen Hurts’ future as the starting quarterback beyond 20212, Roseman said, among other things, that the health of the offensive line will be one, because protection would be one of the keys to giving Hurts the best possible chance to succeed.

That criterion is out the window now.

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