PHILADELPHIA - If this season has proven anything in Philadelphia, it's that the NFL is fluid with the latest bomb being the uncertainty of quarterback Jalen Hurts due to a superficial blood clot.
The Eagles’ offensive line, long the foundation of the organization, had already become unrecognizable. Lane Johnson, the future Hall of Fame right tackle and emotional anchor, retired. Cam Jurgens, the versatile Pro Bowl interior lineman, was traded to the Baltimore Ravens for draft capital. Now, as three-time Pro Bowl left guard Landon Dickerson works his way back from injured reserve and the Nov. 10 trade deadline approaches, the franchise faces a clear choice: stabilize what remains of the unit or accelerate its dismantling.
They cannot let Dickerson become the third departure.
Johnson’s retirement and the Jurgens trade were not identical situations. Johnson’s exit was driven by personal priorities after a long career. Jurgens’ move netted a valuable 2028 second-round pick for a player the Eagles viewed as a fit risk in their evolving scheme and someone who had not fully returned to peak form after injury.
Dickerson, still just 28, is somewhat different. He is under contract through at least 2027 after a revised deal this offseason, remains a proven high-level starter when healthy, and represents the last established Pro Bowl-level presence on the interior next to left tackle Jordan Mailata.
The results without him have been predictable and less than optimal.
The shaky rebuild
After Dickerson went on IR with a bone bruise in his knee following a Week 1 performance he himself called a liability, the line has been in disarray as it has shuffled through multiple combinations. Young, developmental players like Willie Lampkin, Jake Majors and Markel Bell have been pressed into starting roles with limited experience. The offense, already struggling with first-year coordinator Sean Mannion’s new scheme, has ranked near the bottom of the league in yards, scoring, and efficiency.
Any further depletion would compound an already narrow margin for error, especially with Hurts sidelined, Saquon Barkley and DeVonta Smith still dealing with hamstring injuries, and the team trying to stay relevant in what's shaping up as a poor NFC East as a whole.
You can't necessarily just default to Dickerson’s resume: a second-round pick out of Alabama in 2021 who quickly became a foundational piece on a great team with three consecutive Pro Bowl berths (2022-24) and a key blocker for Barkley’s historic 2024 rushing season, and a Super Bowl LIX championship.
At his best, he pairs size, power, and enough athletic ability that fit both the old vertical schemes and the new zone concepts Mannion and the staff are trying to install. That said, the injury history is also real—Dickerson has dealt with multiple issues and even reportedly weighed retirement this offseason.
Opening his practice window this week signals the team still sees him as a viable option now, not merely a trade chip.
Trade rumors have surfaced, of course, as they often do around the deadline for any productive veteran on a reworked contract. Insiders have noted that rival teams could inquire, and Dickerson’s own recent comments—deflecting questions about whether he remains the long-term left guard by saying it is not his decision—reflect that uncertainty.
Yet a fire sale does not align with the Eagles’ stated posture of remaining competitive rather than selling off pieces, especially in a weak division. Draft capital from another trade would be useful long-term, but the immediate cost would be steep: an interior line relying almost entirely on young or unproven players while the offense tries to install a new identity and figure out what they have to do long-term at quarterback with a potential $60 million extension looming for Hurts.
Removing the last proven interior veteran outside Tyler Steen risks turning the remainder of the season into something even worse than the season from hell.
The Eagles have already accepted significant change on the line. Further erosion with Dickerson is not required by circumstance or contract. The one complication is health, but Dickerson is young enough to be part of the next competitive window, experienced enough to stabilize the present, and still capable of high-level play if the worm turns there. Letting him follow Johnson and Jurgens out the door would not be smart roster management by GM Howie Roseman right now. It would be self-inflicted damage to a unit that has already lost too much.
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