Sometimes the best laid plans don’t always bear fruit, like the one Jeff Stoutland hatched this spring. The Eagles offensive line coach said he wanted to identify his starting five as soon as possible.
That hasn’t been possible with two guards missing time with injury. Tyler Steen twisted an ankle on Saturday and on Tuesday Landon Dickerson suffered a knee injury.
Mekhi Becton was at right guard during Thursday’s open practice at Lincoln Financial Field, just as Becton played there Monday and Tuesday. At right guard was Brett Toth, who missed the first couple of days of practice with a hamstring injury. Toth pulled double duty and played center on the second team as well.
Head coach Nick Sirianni, didn’t seem overly concerned that Dickerson or Steen would miss much time, though he’s not putting a timetable on anything. Just as he isn’t putting a timetable on when he would like to solidify his staring five offensive linemen.
“We’ve only been in pads one day,” he said before Thursday’s practice. “We got time. I’m not going to put a timetable on it. Every day is an evaluation and everything that they do is an evaluation, so (Thursday night) will be good for us to get more of an evaluation and look forward to when we get to that day, but there’s nothing to rush.
“It’s just every single day coming out there and looking at these guys and these guys getting good work.”
Stoutland had hoped to have the five in place sooner rather than later so they could work on cohesion and communication, two important ingredients Jason Kelce took with him into retirement.
Training camp began with the Eagles looking to for the best player to work at right guard. Now, with injuries, they are looking for healthy bodies on the interior. Center Cam Jurgens has, so far, been on the only constant, the way Kelce was when he started 156 straight games.
So, the Eagles don’t seem any closer to finding that right guard, though maybe Becton is in the driver’s seat at the moment.
“I’d like to know before week one,” laughed Johnson. “But no, I mean, I’ve played with different guards the past few years… just build that nucleus between whoever I’m playing (with). A lot of it goes to communication, repetition, so if it is Mekhi or Steen or whoever it is, I’d like to have as many reps as possible so I can get a feel for his play style and go from there.
“But with each guy, it only gets better with reps. So, hopefully I’ll know here in the next couple weeks.”
If it is the 6-7 Becton who wins the job, it would be very rare to have a guard that tall. Perhaps the last one to play the interior at that size was the 6-7 Robert Gallery, the second overall pick in the 2004 draft who moved from tackle to guard for the then-Oakland Raiders in 2007.
“I think any time you got that height difference up front, it’s definitely a thing,” said QB Jalen Hurts. “I think it’s important to have a firm inside and let those guys outside do what they do. I think Mekhi has stepped in. He’s doing a great job.”
