Eagles linebacker Ben VanSumeren enjoys pretty much every part of playing fullback.
Except one.
Since he wears No. 57, he has to report as an eligible receiver every single time he touches the field on offense.
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“That is annoying,” VanSumeren said. “It’s annoying but it’s something we’ve got to do. We talked about maybe changing numbers but I think it’s too deep in the season to do that.”
VanSumeren, 24, better get used to it. Because this is more than a gimmick, more than an experiment. The second-year linebacker from Michigan State looks like a legitimate option to play some fullback the rest of the year.
Earlier this season, VanSumeren got the first offensive snap of his career in the Tampa game but on Sunday against the Giants, the Eagles unleashed him even more. In the 28-3 win, VanSumeren played five offensive snaps and had some key blocks to spring big runs.
Take a look:
“Listen, he’s doing an unbelievable job,” tight end Jack Stoll said. “He’s got the right mentality, which is 90% of it. I think he could go out there and do some things. That’s where I’m excited to see this package hopefully expand. I’m always excited when I see big 5-7 run out on that field.”
NFL
The Eagles signed VanSumeren as an undrafted free agent last season and he eventually carved out a role on special teams. That has continued in 2024. VanSumeren has been a core special teamer for Michael Clay’s unit, but he remains a bit buried on the depth chart at linebacker.
The more you can do, right?
VanSumeren grew up as a receiver and was a star offensive player in high school. He even went to Michigan to play offense before transferring to Michigan State and becoming a linebacker.
“Just getting back to my offensive roots,” VanSumeren said. “It feels natural to me. I don’t feel like there’s really any rust that I needed to knock off or anything like that once I got introduced to it. I’ve been having a lot of fun with it.”
VanSumeren said that he began to see some time on offense late in training camp. On the final day of camp, he ran an impressive route against rookie safety Andre’ Sam in a 1-on-1 drill that definitely turned some heads. But it was more than just one instance and VanSumeren's athleticism has always been intriguing.
It was the coaching staff’s decision to play VanSumeren on offense, but it doesn’t sound like anyone in particular came up with the idea.
“I think it's just a collective group (decision),” offensive coordinator Kellen Moore said. “Sometimes as you go through training camp and stuff, sometimes guys on offense have to help defense and defense have to help offense just to show different looks and line up and presentations.
“Him just kind of unintentionally lining up on offense to aid the defense gives us the look of, ‘Hey, this guy has got some athleticism,’ and obviously it kind of just kept building as we went. So we'll see where it takes us.”
As you might imagine, this new job responsibility has added a little extra to VanSumeren’s plate during the week. He is still in defensive meetings but will spend time with the offense during walkthrough.
He has to be ready for the install on both sides of the ball and then he has to be ready to play in all three phases on Sundays. His coaches and teammates have been very supportive.
“I’m cool with it,” VanSumeren said. “I’m super willing to do whatever it takes for this team. I really enjoy doing it and I’ll do whatever this team asks.”
It’s not like VanSumeren is suddenly going to be a full-time player on offense. And even though he played five snaps on Sunday, it doesn’t mean that he’ll play a bunch in Cincinnati or against the Jaguars. But Moore’s offense has had fullbacks before and at least having that option on this roster is a fun development.
The Eagles rushed for 269 yards on Sunday against the Giants and they probably would have been pretty successful even without VanSumeren as a lead blocker. But it does add a wrinkle to a run game that’s already really varied and tough to defend.
“Every week you're trying to find out what gives us best opportunity to be successful,” Moore said, “and felt like that gave us an opportunity this past week and he did an excellent job. His effort in the run game he had the juice and energy going, and I think it was a real benefit to us.”
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