Pederson: Eagles rotated LBs because of heavy workload

Nigel Bradham and Jordan Hicks are usually the Eagles' linebackers in the nickel formation, but they came off the field Sunday during the third defensive drive in the loss to the Detroit Lions.

Coach Doug Pederson said Monday that the Eagles rotated the linebackers then because of the heavy workload the players endured in the first half of the game, when the Lions put together three long drives and had the ball for nearly 18 of the 30 minutes. Mychal Kendricks and Stephen Tulloch played in place of Bradham and Hicks.

"If you saw the third series of the game, it was a 14-play drive [with] 12 total plays," Pederson said. ". . . The defense had previously been on the field 22 plays. Basically . . . we just needed to give guys a break, just to give them a blow. It was a long first half for our defense staying on the field."

Bradham played 22 of 32 defensive plays in the first half - he just didn't play in nickel and dime packages on the third series. Pederson said Bradham was not being punished for his arrest during the bye week.

One notable snap total on the playing-time distribution was for defensive end Vinny Curry, who played only 16 of 61 snaps. Starting defensive ends Brandon Graham and Connor Barwin played 53 and 52 snaps, respectively. Curry signed a five-year, $47.25 million contract during the offseason.

"It comes down to the way we rotate and sometimes it's personnel on offense, whether a team is going hurry-up or not and huddling quite a bit," Pederson said. "Vinny is a big part of that group. It's just a matter of the rotating basis and keeping guys as fresh as we can throughout the game. But there's nothing other than that to read into."

Right tackle Lane Johnson suffered a right elbow hyperextension and will be limited in practice Wednesday, but Pederson expects Johnson to be able to play Sunday against the Washington Redskins - if Johnson is eligible. Johnson could hear from the NFL this week about the appeal of his 10-game suspension for using a banned supplement.

"Until we get the final word, Lane is my right tackle and I'm going to keep going that route," Pederson said. "If Lane is limited due to his injury on Wednesday, then as I mentioned before, we'll probably have [Halapoulivaati Vaitai] step up and get some reps this week, particularly maybe on Wednesday."

Defensive end Bryan Braman suffered a left shoulder sprain and will miss practice Wednesday, but he should be ready to play next weekend. The same is true for cornerback Leodis McKelvin, who reinjured his hamstring, the Eagles said.