Philadelphia Eagles' Offensive Line Woes May Not Be Fixable

According to Spotrac, the Philadelphia Eagles have $11.6 million of salary-cap space allocated to running backs. That's the third-highest figure in the NFL—and a lot of good it's doing.

Unfortunately, the Eagles' investment in the offensive line doesn't quite match the spending on backs. Since selecting Lane Johnson with the fourth overall draft pick in 2013, the organization has not taken a single offensive lineman in the draft. That's 20 consecutive rounds.

Not surprisingly, it's starting to show. Offensive line depth was already an issue last season. Then the Eagles attempted to replace two starting guards from within. And now that injuries and decline have reared their ugly heads, the unit is deteriorating before our very eyes.

PLAYER	POSITION	STARTER?	ACQUIRED	YEAR
Josh Andrews	C/G	No	UDFA	2014
Allen Barbre	LG	Yes	FA	2013
Lane Johnson	RT	Yes	Draft R1	2013
Jason Kelce	C	Yes	Draft R6	2011
Dennis Kelly	G/T	No	Draft R5	2012
Jason Peters	LT	Yes	Trade	2009
Matt Tobin	G/T	No	UDFA	2013
Julian Vandervelde	G	No	Draft R5	2011

There doesn't appear to be a quick fix for the line, either. The level of talent is what it is. There's nothing available on free agency. A trade might upgrade one spot, but multiple players have been the issue.

All the Eagles can do is continue to plug the best people in and hope it improves. Good luck with that.

For all the money that was thrown at DeMarco Murray, Ryan Mathews and Darren Sproles, the Eagles can't run the ball at all. Philadelphia's ground attack is averaging a paltry 3.1 yards per carry through four games, good for 31st in the NFL. They lead the league with 32 runs for a loss or no gain (36 percent of all attempts).

In Sunday's loss to Washington, the group finally broke down in protection as well. Sam Bradford was sacked only twice during the first three game of the season but wound up going down five times this week. On several instances, the quarterback had almost no chance to make a decision, much less get rid of the football.

The thing is this whole situation was easy to see coming and possibly could have been avoided.

Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

The decision to release Todd Herremans wasn't necessarily a problem. The right guard is about to turn 33, injuries had plagued him the past few years and Andrew Gardner legitimately outplayed him last season. The fact that Herremans has already been benched by the Indianapolis Colts speaks volumes there.

Parting ways with Evan Mathis over a financial dispute, on the other hand, was clearly a mistake. Mathis skipped voluntary workouts during the offseason, so head coach Chip Kelly made the decision to release the two-time Pro Bowler rather than wait for him to show. Big mistake.

Taking Mathis' place was Allen Barbre, a career journeyman who had started about as many games as years he's been hanging around the NFL entering this season. The downgrade is significant and obvious to everyone—everyone but Kelly, that is.

The only other move the Eagles attempted to make was signing John Moffitt in June. A third-round draft pick in 2011, Moffitt had retired from football in 2013, which was apparent. He never threatened Gardner for the starting job, and the team released him out of training camp.

And now that Gardner has landed on injured reserve for the remainder of the season, yet another backup must step into a starting role. That was Matt Tobin, who actually lost the job to Gardner last season after Herremans' latest injury.

By the end of Sunday's game, it was Dennis Kelly at right guard, literally the fourth person off the Eagles' bench. That's because an injured Jason Peters forced Tobin to slide outside to left tackle to replace him.

That situation is troubling in itself. Peters is a seven-time Pro Bowler, a potential Hall of Famer when he retires—which might be closer than people had hoped. The fact of the matter is his play has slipped noticeably, and he's no longer elite in pass protection or even as a run-blocker. That, and he's failed to finish the past two games due to injury.

If Peters is in decline or absent, that's a major concern, as he's long been the cornerstone of the Eagles offense. This is a problem that couldn't necessarily be avoided but wasn't difficult to see coming.

Right tackle might be an issue as well, as Johnson is dealing with an injury. He was able to finish Sunday's contest but was clearly laboring, allowing two sacks on the Eagles' final drive.

Only center Jason Kelce is completely healthy and not somebody the Eagles scraped off the bench. On the other hand, he's often played like a reserve this year as well, despite coming off of his first Pro Bowl season. Why Kelce is struggling is a mystery, but it's the harsh reality.

When even proven, quality players such as Kelce, Johnson and Peters are either hurt, not performing or both, it's hard to expect the rotating group of guards to play at a high level. And when the team refuses to upgrade the offensive line through the draft or free agency, and goes so far as to cut one of its best player, it's impossible to envision much improvement.

Without improvement up front, the Eagles aren't going to be able to run the ball and won't be able to sustain drives. And if they can't sustain drives, there aren't going to be many wins, either.