Jason Kelce gets brutally honest about his biggest 'concern' for Philadelphia Eagles following NFL free agency losses
The Philadelphia Eagles pride themselves in having one of the best offensive lines in the NFL. However, they took two massive hits to their offensive line over the last couple of days when they lost both starting right guard Mekhi Becton and reliable swing tackle Fred Johnson in NFL free agency. Of course, the Eagles […]
The Philadelphia Eagles pride themselves in having one of the best offensive lines in the NFL.
However, they took two massive hits to their offensive line over the last couple of days when they lost both starting right guard Mekhi Becton and reliable swing tackle Fred Johnson in NFL free agency.
Of course, the Eagles have third-year offensive guard Tyler Steen, who is projected to take on a larger role. But they still need depth and reliable linemen, which is something former legendary center Jason Kelce is concerned about for the Birds this offseason.
"I would like to see him be a little bit more consistent," Kelce said of guard Tyler Steen playing a bigger role during an appearance on 94WIP. "He's very good at times and other times he'll get a little bit out of balance or he'll get beat. But he's a good player and somebody I certainly am happy going into a season playing. My concern a little bit is you lose Mekhi [Becton], you lose Fred Johnson. You had the Cam [Jurgens] and Landon [Dickerson] injuries going into the Super Bowl and after that.
"I want to see who is going to replace this depth issue…Who's going to be the Tyler Steen this year if Tyler Steen is a starter and somebody needs to play? Is this a major drop off that really hurts the unit?"
The Eagles have been active in adding o-line depth. So far, the team has signed veteran tackle Kendall Lamm and acquired former first-round pick Kenyon Green from the Houston Texans.
Kelce, on the other hand, doesn't think adding Green was the best move.
“(Green) has played, if I’m being honest, bad in Houston, like, really bad,” said Kelce. “But I do know that he was a hot commodity when he was coming out of the draft. The measurables, and the potential are there, (so) when you look at that stuff, it's exciting. You never know. Is there a coaching thing that can make this better, or is this lack of instinct and lack of understanding that he’s not going to be able to grasp?”
The good news is that the Eagles have Jeff Stoutland who was able to take Becton's career to new heights. Hopefully, the same can be done with Green.
“I say that with the biggest caveat, though,” Kelce said. “It worked last year with Mekhi Becton. Mekhi struggled in New York. He switched positions, and he flourished with Stout. It doesn’t always work like that. You never know how much of this is mental and how much a disconnect with the coaching or the guys around him is causing something to struggle.
"He was an awful offensive line last year in Houston, and it wasn’t just him. (QB) CJ Stroud was under duress all season. A lot of players struggled down there. We’ll see. I will say this – as a guy looking at a guy with potential and measurables and explosion and size, I’m intrigued, and I look forward to what Jeff Stoutland can do with a guy like that.”
The Eagles also can looked forward to relying on second-year offensive guard Trevor Keegan, whom they drafted last April. Additionally, the Eagles have Darian Kinnard and Brett Toth, who each have real in-game experience playing at tackle and guard.
While these kinds of comments Eagles fans want to hear from their former beloved center, Stoutland and general manager Howie Roseman are to be trusted.
