PHILADELPHIA — Eagles offensive tackle Jordan Mailata took his singing talents to the White House to serenade First Lady Jill Biden, he said Wednesday at the staff Christmas Party.
Mailata was such a big hit that President Biden gave him and Eagles director of player development Connor Barwin, among others, a tour of the Oval Office. Mailata was accompanied by members of the band that backed him, Jason Kelce and Lane Johnson on the Philly Special Christmas album.
“We got to speak to President Biden and Dr. Jill for probably about 45 minutes,” Mailata said Wednesday. “That was probably the surreal part of it. I thought it was going to be like ‘Oh, hi.’ We spoke for a little bit. And then he took us to the Oval Office. He’s like, randomly, you guys ever been to the Oval Office? I said, ‘Mr. President it’s my first time here. I don’t know how I even got in here.’ He escorted us with I don’t know how many Secret Service people there were, it seemed like there were 100 in there, but he escorted us to the Oval Office.”
Mailata said he spoke more football with Dr. Biden, the Eagles’ fan, than the Prez. The whole experience left him grateful, and starstruck.
“That was wild,” Mailata said. “If you had told me a couple years ago that I’d even be a starter in the NFL, I’d have probably laughed in your face. But if you told me that I was going to be singing in the White House and then have an opportunity to spend time with the President of the United States of America and the First Lady I’d probably just walk away from you. What a surreal opportunity.”
A few feet from his locker, Mailata, surprised at the interest in his story, looked into the huge pack of media, smiled and imitated a verbal refrain frequently heard during an Eagles open locker room.
“Jalen Hurts is at the podium,” Mailata said in his best media relations voice. “What are you guys doing here?”
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The Eagles held a walkthrough Wednesday where the only non-participant was cornerback Darius Slay, according to the team’s “estimation.”
However, the cat got out of the bag, if you will, during the open locker room when a credible player said linebackers Zach Cunningham (knee) and Nick Morrow (abdomen) would be back this week along with cornerback Avonte Maddox (pectoral muscle). All sat out Monday’s win over the Giants.
Less certain is the status of left guard Landon Dickerson (broken thumb), who missed his first game in three seasons last week.
Slay sounds like he’ll be back sooner, than later.
“I’ll be good,” Slay said. “We’ll see what’s going on, but I’m looking forward to whenever I get back out there.”
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Quarterback Kyler Murray (illness), wide receiver Marquise Brown (heel), linebacker Zaven Collins (ankle) and defensive end Jonathan Ledbetter (knee) sat out the Cardinals’ practice Wednesday.
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The Eagles (11-4) are 10.5-point favorites over the Cardinals (3-12), who are coached by former Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon.
“It’s going to be cool to see him,” Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham said. “JG was a great coach. Good dude. Looking forward to seeing him. Of course, we’re looking forward to trying to beat him, too.”
