O-Line Depth Was Already Thin. Powers-Johnson Made It Thinner.

Jackson Powers-Johnson's exit from Sunday's red zone drills didn't happen in a vacuum. I noted it here yesterday — the training staff walked him off, no timeline offered — but it's worth sitting with what it means for the group behind him. The depth chart at offensive line lists Jordan Meredith, William Sweet, and Tyler Linderbaum as the top options. That's not a lot of cushion for a team that needs its front to hold together.

The skill-position core this offense is built around — Ashton Jeanty, Brock Bowers, Tre Tucker — produced at a genuinely encouraging level in 2025 despite the 3–14 wreckage around them. What they need, more than anything, is continuity up front. Jeanty's production on the ground depends on it. Bowers, who played only 12 games last year, needs a pocket that doesn't collapse around him. An offensive line that's still sorting out its depth in mid-August is not the foundation that group deserves.

The front office has been active this camp — Folorunso Fatukasi on the defensive side, Fernando Mendoza locked in at quarterback — but the o-line situation is quieter and more uncertain. My read is that this is the most pressing unresolved question on the offensive side of the ball right now, and it'll stay that way until Powers-Johnson's status gets clarified.