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The Philadelphia Eagles have suffered yet another season-ending injury to an offensive lineman, as Todd Herremans will be added to injured reserve with a foot injury.
Herremans, now in his eighth year with the Eagles, was the team's most experienced lineman coming into the season, and was part of a patchwork offensive line that has already allowed 27 sacks on the year. Left tackle Jason Peters suffered an Achilles injury that ended his year in training camp, and center Jason Kelce tore his MCL in Week 2 and has been out for the year since. Right guard Danny Watkins has missed the past several games with what's termed a "chronic ankle injury", meaning that left guard Evan Mathis is the only starter likely to play in next week's game against the Dallas Cowboys.
Herremans' backup according to the Eagles depth chart is Danny Kelly, but Kelly was already playing for Watkins, meaning that the team shifted left tackle Demetress Bell over, a decision Bleeding Green Nation termed "a disaster". The team has added guard Julian Vandervelde, the team's 2011 fifth-round pick, to the roster, so perhaps he will take over right guard duties with Kelly shifting to the tackle spot.
While Michael Vick has taken plenty of criticism for his play in recent weeks, some of the blame should go to an injury-ridden offensive line that has given him little time to pass and allowed the historically fragile quarterback to get beaten up: the 27 sacks are the fourth-most in the league, and Vick has taken 71 hits, more than any other quarterback in the league. Without Herremans, the play in the trenches will likely get even worse.
This story originally appeared on SBNation.com.