February 18, 2024
Nathan Ray Seebeck/USA TODAY Sports
Jason Kelce's Hall of Fame career may have reached its end.
Over the next few weeks, we'll be taking a position-by-position look at which players will likely be back with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2024, and which ones likely won't. Today we'll look at the interior offensive line.
Regarding the polls below, they are your votes on what you think the Eagles should do, not necessarily what you think they will do. Please think of them more as approval polls for each player.
Kelce is a lock Hall of Famer after earning his sixth first-team All-Pro nod in 2023, and gaining something close to household name status as a result of his popular podcast with his brother and tangential association with Taylor Swift.
#JimmyVerdict: In previous years it felt like more of a toss-up whether Kelce would finally retire, or not. This year it feels a lot more like he played his last NFL season. So my guess is go. But, I mean, what do I know?
Dickerson is a quiet "do your job" type who has only missed two career starts due to injury after falling to the second round of the 2021 draft because of durability concerns. He has made the Pro Bowl in each of the last two seasons, perhaps surprisingly so, but has obviously become a good starting LG in between Kelce and Jordan Mailata.
#JimmyVerdict: Dickerson and DeVonta Smith are both eligible for contract extensions after completing their third seasons in the NFL. If the Eagles cannot work something out with Smith, they can exercise his fifth year option for the 2025 season because he was a first-round pick. There's no fear of him leaving anytime soon.
They will have no such advantage with Dickerson. It's also worth nothing that Dickerson will not be a good candidate for the franchise tag next offseason, should the Eagles need it, since franchise tags do not differentiate between guards and tackles. A franchise tag would be elite offensive tackle money, which the Eagles will not want to pay to any guard. As such, the Eagles could have more urgency to get something done long-term with Dickerson this offseason than Smith. Stay.
After playing just 34 snaps as a rookie in 2022 while serving as an apprentice under Kelce, Jurgens added some weight and became the starting RG in 2023 after Isaac Seumalo left in free agency to play for the Steelers. He was a bit of a downgrade from Seumalo, which was probably to be expected.
The Eagles have a recent history of playing college centers at guard. It took the similarly undersized Seumalo a few years to adjust to the position in the NFL, while the transition for Dickerson was a little more natural because he's a 333-pound tank.
#JimmyVerdict: Jurgens' eventual forever home will be at center, which could come as soon as the 2024 season if Kelce retires. Stay.
At the start of training camp, there was an open competition for the starting RG job between Steen and Jurgens, which was quickly won by Jurgens. Steen never looked fully comfortable at guard during the summer, but he looked good when he got reps at LT, his position in college at Alabama.
During the 2023 season, Steen had extended action in just one game, against the Cowboys Week 9, at RG in relief of Jurgens, and he struggled mightily. Otherwise, the team trusted Sua Opeta over him whenever they needed a reserve guard.
Steen's transition from tackle to guard did not go well his rookie season, and the team should perhaps re-evaluate what his best position will ultimately be in the NFL.
#JimmyVerdict: Steen was the 65th overall pick in the 2023 draft, which is barely outside the second round. He's going to get several years to prove himself. Stay.
Opeta was an undrafted rookie free agent in 2019 who has started 10 games over the last four seasons in Philly, including 6 in 2023 in relief of Dickerson and Jurgens. He is a guard only with limited versatility, but he has at least played on both sides:
| Sua Opeta snaps | LG | RG |
| 2019 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | 148 | 17 |
| 2021 | 153 | 10 |
| 2022 | 61 | 31 |
| 2023 | 134 | 394 |
| TOTAL | 496 | 452 |
He played reasonably well in his first three starts against the Commanders, Rams, and Jets, but not so much in his other action the rest of the season.
#JimmyVerdict: Opeta is an unrestricted free agent. The bet here is that he re-signs with the Eagles on a one-year deal, with no assurances that he'll be on the 53-man roster in 2024.
Green = Stay
Red = Go
Blue = Will be back in camp in 2024, but a 53-man roster spot is not a given.
| Position | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| HC | Nick Sirianni ✅ | ||||
| Coordinators | Sean Desai ✅ | Matt Patricia ✅ | Brian Johnson ✅ | Michael Clay ✅ | |
| QB | Jalen Hurts | Marcus Mariota | Tanner McKee | ||
| RB | D'Andre Swift | Kenny Gainwell | Boston Scott | Rashaad Penny | |
| WR | A.J. Brown | DeVonta Smith | Quez Watkins | Olamide Zaccheaus | Julio Jones |
| TE | Dallas Goedert | Jack Stoll | Grant Calcaterra | Albert Okwuegbunam | |
| OT | Lane Johnson | Jordan Mailata | Jack Driscoll | Fred Johnson | |
| OG | Landon Dickerson | Tyler Steen | Sua Opeta | ||
| C | Jason Kelce | Cam Jurgens | |||
| ED | |||||
| iDL | |||||
| OBLB | |||||
| CB | |||||
| S | |||||
| K/P/LS | |||||
| KR/PR | Britain Covey (PR) | Boston Scott (KR) |
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