Landon Dickerson Is Back But Which Version Will The Eagles Get?

Nothing is certain when it comes to chronic injuries in the NFL, but the idea that Landon Dickerson was going to walk away from $19 million in 2026 at the age of 27 was always unlikely.

Retirement would also have meant that Dickerson could have been forced to return over $10M of previously-paid signing bonus money from his lucrative contract extension signed in March of 2024.

For those reasons, the thought with multiple team sources was that the three-time Pro Bowl left guard would take some time to recharge his batteries after a difficult season and decide to run it back next to one of his best friends, star left tackle Jordan Mailata.

Now that Dickerson has made it clear on social media that he will play in 2026, the question will turn to what version of Dickerson the Eagles will be getting: the road-grading, powerful Pro-Bowler, or the compromised movement-deficient warrior who persevered through last season.

Furthermore, Dickerson is undertaking all of these hurdles in the midst of an offensive scheme change away from the Jeff Stoutland-favored vertical-attacking style that emphasized displacement at the point of attack to the horizontal stretching seen in the modern wide-zone systems popularized by Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay.

Dickerson, as perhaps the most powerful OG in the league when right, seems like a better fit for the former that reach-blocking all day in the latter.

Contingency Plan?

New Eagles offensive lineman Willie Lampkin, who was added to the 53-man roster on Wednesday, chats with Joe Douglas during practice. | Ed Kracz/Eagles on SI

The Eagles will need a contingency for Dickerson now that veteran Brett Toth is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent.

Drew Kendall is a natural center but had started cross-training at guard last season with an eye on becoming the interior game-day backup. Meanwhile, if Kendall proves to be a superior OC perhaps Cam Jurgens could return to guard, something he’s already done successfully during Jason Kelce’s final NFL season.

Also, don’t sleep on the 5-foot-11, 290-pound Willie Lampkin, an undersized uber-athletic undrafted free agent out of North Carolina by the Los Angeles Rams last season.

The Eagles thought so much of Lampkin that they claimed him after the Rams released him after a knee injury with a waived/injured designation, something NFL teams rarely do.

Philadelphia was content to wait for Lampkin to heal last season and did start his 21-day practice window to return from injured reserve at one point before shutting the Lakeland, Fla. native down and essentially redshirting him during his rookie campaign.

The easiest path here is the optimistic one where a healthy Dickerson proved top-tier players adapt to any scheme.

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