The Eagles will be without star right tackle Lane Johnson on Sunday against the Rams.
Johnson, 36, is officially inactive after being downgraded to questionable for personal reasons on Sunday morning. Expect rookie third-round pick Markel Bell to start in his place. Veteran Fred Johnson is also out with a knee injury.
The Eagles were already without some key players as they host the Rams on Sunday afternoon at the Linc.
Entering the weekend, the Eagles ruled out six players. Here’s the full list of inactives:
OT Lane Johnson (personal)
WR Devonta Smith (hamstring)
LB Zack Baun (concussion)
TE Dallas Goedert (knee)
S Marcus Epps (groin)
WR Hollywood Brown (ankle)
OT Fred Johnson (knee)
QB Cole Payton
The Eagles’ backup OL in this game are Willie Lampkin and Micah Morrison. If another tackle went down, the Eagles would likely have to slide Tyler Steen outside.
Without DeVonta Smith in this game, the Eagles are going to rely on Dontayvion Wicks, Makai Lemon, Darius Cooper and Elijah Moore. The Eagles have been extremely pleased by Wicks so far this season and think he’ll be fine in this role. But the Eagles are obviously going to miss Smith. He is second in the NFL in target share (32.9%) this season behind just Jaxon Smith-Njigba (37.9%).
And without Baun, the Eagles will turn to third-year linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr. to play next to Jihaad Campbell in the middle of the defense. The Eagles really like Trotter but this is undoubtedly a tough matchup against a Sean McVay offense that clouds every picture with eye candy.
This will be the second missed game for Dallas Goedert, who suffered a sprained MCL in Week 2 in Tennessee. Goedert was not put on IR, so the Eagles clearly expect him to return within a four-week window. The Eagles on Saturday elevated tight ends Zach Ertz and Josiah Deguara.
The Eagles’ backup quarterback for this game will be Tanner McKee, NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reported on Sunday morning. Andy Dalton will be the QB3 after an awful interception last season.