Jason Kelce Reaction to Isaac Seumalo Injury Doesn't Indicate a Promising Prognosis
ARLINGTON, Texas - The Eagles lost much more than a game Monday night.
As bad and embarrassing as a 41-21 setback to the hated Dallas Cowboys was, things got far worse with just under four minutes left in the game when left guard Isaac Seumalo was carted off with what was described as a foot injury.
Nick Sirianni didn’t give an update after the game on Seumalo, pushing things off to Wednesday when the head coach will speak next after the coach gets all the information he needs from his training and medical staff.
Veteran center Jason Kelce, however, foreshadowed a poor end game when he got very emotional talking about a player he has consistently described as underrated and undervalued.
“It was tough,” Kelce said when discussing the injury. That’s a guy that’s really been underappreciated for a long time.”
At that point, Kelce, a tough man’s tough man, couldn't keep his eyes from welling up a bit when talking about his friend and teammate and took nearly a minute for him to compose himself before answering a question about his emotions when he saw Seumalo carted off.
“He does a lot for our [offensive line] room, our unit, he’s a special player, special person,” Kelce said. “He’s having a great year and I know he’ll bounce back and be a tremendous player again, but yeah, it was hard to watch him get carted off the field.”
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The Eagles underwent historic attrition on the offensive line in 2020, using an NFL record 14 different units over 16 games. Seumalo himself missed seven games with an MCL sprain.
This season, Philadelphia has already lost right guard Brandon Brooks with a strained pec in Week 2 against San Francisco, and starting left tackle Jordan Mailata went down with a sprained knee in practice on Thursday.
The good news is that both Brooks, who is currently on injured reserve, and Mailata will be back this season, the latter sooner rather than later.
Nate Herbig, who started 12 games last season as an injury replacement for both Brooks and Seumalo, came in Monday to finish out the game at left guard.
Rookie Landon Dickerson started for Brooks at RG against the Cowboys and 2019 first-round pick Andre Dillard was in for Mailata.
“It’s the business, said Kelce of the bad luck. "That’s the sport, especially the 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?
“… I think Stout [OL coach Jeff Stoutland] does a tremendous job and part of this is because of his time in college and having to develop players of getting guys able to come in and play in the game and be ready.”
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Kelce, meanwhile, has been an ironman, staring his 108th consecutive game on Monday night, which is the longest active streak among NFL centers and longest by any Philadelphia OC since the 1970 merger.
“Obviously, I wish Brandon and Isaac and Jordan were healthy, but you don’t get that,” said the center. “You get what you get and I’m happy to go out there with the guys that I have out there. It’s an opportunity to go out there and play ball together, an opportunity to watch the tape, get better and get ready for the Chiefs [next week].”
As for Seumalo, Kelce said that the Eagles lost “a very smart player,” and “a very detailed player.”
“Everybody has their personality and their traits that make them unique,” Kelce said. “You can tell this means a lot to him. He sacrifices and does his best to make other players better and to help other players out. No man is an island, you must draw your strength for others.
“He’s a guy that’s never really got the credit he’s been due for how good he truly is as a player, as a teammate. I felt like he was finally getting that this year.”
-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's EagleMaven and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on both PhillyVoice.com and YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Extending the Play" on AM1490 in South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
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.
