Philadelphia Eagles starting center
Jason Kelce left the field with what appeared to be a lower-back injury in the first quarter on Thursday night in the team's preseason game vs. the
Cleveland Browns.
The injury to Kelce happened with just under 10 minutes to play in the first quarter.
Kelce went down at the end of a running play with Wendell Smallwood. Kelce laid on the ground and appeared to be in serious pain. Offensive tackle Lane Johnson helped Kelce up and two trainers assisted him to the sideline.
Kelce spent time with the Eagles trainers on the sideline after leaving the field, getting his lower back and his right legged stretched.
He spent some time moving around and appeared to be moving fine. The good news for the Eagles is that Kelce did re-enter the game on the next drive.
Kelce is near the top of the list of players the Eagles can least afford to lose. Backup center Isaac Seumalo has struggled this preseason. The team could move left guard Stefen Wisniewski to center but that would weaken the team at two positions.
The good news is that the team has appeared to dodge a bullet, but the brief scare did highlight just how important Kelce is to the team -- and how many issues the team could have if they lost him to an injury.