Eagles Stay or Go 2024: Jason Kelce highlights the interior offensive line

Reuben Frank and Dave Zangaro bring back Stay or Go in 2024, trying to figure out the futures of every Eagles player on the roster.

We already looked at quarterback, running back, receiver and tight end.

Up today: Interior offensive line

Landon Dickerson

Roob: Dickerson is going into a contract year, and with Pro Bowls in each of the last two seasons his next contract is shaping up to be an expensive one. Probably in the $15 million per year range. But like the DeVonta Smith deal, it has to get done, and it will get done. Hasson Reddick is one thing. But Howie Roseman doesn’t let elite players who are 25 years old leave. Dickerson will probably never live up to his own impossible expectations, but he’s become one of the NFL’s top young guards. He’s the first Eagles offensive lineman to make two Pro Bowls in his first three years since Hall of Famer Bob Brown in 1965 and 1966. Pretty good company. He’s not going anywhere for a long time.

Verdict: Stays

Dave: If you don’t spend much time thinking about an offensive guard, they’re probably playing pretty well. That’s the case with Dickerson, who is quietly entering his fourth NFL season with two Pro Bowls already under his belt. Dickerson is exceptionally critical of his own play but even he had to admit he improved in 2023. When the Eagles used the No. 37 overall pick on Dickerson, I was admittedly concerned based on his laundry list of injuries in college. But he’s been able to fight through some minor nicks and bruises in the NFL and has played in 33 of 34 games over the last two seasons. Dickerson, 25, is also now eligible for a contract extension and the Eagles should work to get that done. He seems like the type of guy you can count on for a decade on the interior of the line.

Verdict: Stays

Cam Jurgens

Roob: You would have liked to have seen a little more consistency from Jurgens in 2022, but he dealt with injuries, missed six games and most of a seventh and was just OK in his first year as a starter when he did play. There are a lot of eventualities based on whether or not Jason Kelce retires, but the Eagles did draft Tyler Steen in the third round for a reason and while I expect Jurgens to be the opening-day right guard it’s not etched in stone. Jurgens isn’t bad, but he’s the weak link on that o-line, and the Eagles are going to do everything they can to get the offense back where it needs to be. Jurgens’ immediate future is secure but he does need to play better in 2024 than in 2023, especially as a pass blocker.

Verdict: Stays

Dave: There were some ups and downs from Jurgens in 2023 but that’s to be expected as he played out of position. No matter the future of Jason Kelce, Jurgens will definitely be back on the roster next season. And there seems to be a really good shot he’ll be the Eagles’ starting center in 2024. After all, that’s the position the Eagles drafted him to play and even Kelce was on board with the pick after helping to scout Jurgens coming out of Nebraska. I think there’s a really good chance Jurgens ends up being a better center than he is a guard, even though it’s going to be incredibly hard to ever live up to Kelce.

Verdict: Stays

Jason Kelce

Roob: It’s just hard to imagine a Philadelphia Eagles football team without Jason Kelce. Over 13 years, 205 games and nearly 13,000 snaps, he’s established himself as one of the greatest centers of all-time, one of the greatest Eagles of all-time and one of the greatest beer-drinking, Mummers-wearing, Fairytale of New York-singing, fern-stumbling, charity-supporting, flannel-wearing Philly dudes of all-time. Maybe he’ll come back for another season. He’s always said it’s a decision he prefers making several weeks after the season ends to take the emotion out of the equation. It sure looks like he’s ready to hang ‘em up, but until he says it or writes it or tweets it or announces it on his podcast, I’m not going to believe it. But … my hunch is that he:

Verdict: Goes

Dave: The Eagles are sitting back and hoping Kelce decides to return for Year 14. And it’s not even about his folk hero status or his lovable nature. It’s because even at age 36, Kelce is still one of the best centers in the NFL and has been a huge piece of the Eagles’ offense for over a decade. He was an All-Pro again in 2023 and his play hasn’t dropped off a bit. But Kelce is contemplating his future and I think this is the time he walks away. It made sense for him to run it back in 2023 after the Super Bowl run the year before but the way things ended last year had to be tough for the veteran. If Kelce comes back, the Eagles will gladly pay him another $15 million but this isn’t about money for Kelce. And, heck, he has plenty of other lucrative opportunities that will be available to him. I don’t think it’s a definite but I’m leaning toward an official retirement from No. 62.

Verdict: Goes

Sua Opeta

Roob: Sua has been on and off the practice squad and 53-man roster for five years now, and that tells you there’s something the coaches like about him. He has the ability and the mentality to come in on very little notice and get you through a game at either guard spot, and that’s a valuable trait. But I also think the Eagles need to get better at the backup offensive line spots, and I expect Opeta to be a victim of that. He’s had a nice run for an undrafted free agent and earned over $4 million as a pro. Good for him. But I think he’ll be somewhere else in 2024.

Verdict: Goes

Dave: Opeta first arrived in Philly in 2019 out of Weber State and was quite a project for Jeff Stoutland. Even though he’s bounced from the 53-man roster to the practice squad, Opeta has become a valuable member of the team and in 2023 ended up playing in 13 games and starting a career-high 6. Opeta is an unrestricted free agent this season and there’s a chance he could see some offers elsewhere but I think the Eagles see more value in him than most teams, especially after they’ve put all these years into his progression.

Verdict: Stays

Jason Poe

Roob: According to a story in the May 19, 2022, San Francisco Chronicle, Poe’s 9th-grade coach in Georgia called Poe one of the worst players he’d ever seen and tried to convince him to quit playing football: “We tried to convince him to just be a manager because he was so bad.” But Poe stuck it out, wound up playing at a few colleges, spent parts of the last three years on the 49ers’ and Jets’ practice squads and is now with the Eagles as a futures signee. Gotta root for this dude. But ...  

Verdict: Goes

Dave: Poe (6-1, 300) went undrafted out of Mercer in 2022 and has spent some time with the Niners and Jets before signing a futures contract with the Eagles this offseason. He’s still pretty raw but has good athleticism and definitely falls into the project bucket even though he’s already 25 years old. He’s a real longshot to make the 53-man roster but I like his odds of landing on the practice squad with the chance of being developed by Stout.

Verdict: Goes

Lecitus Smith

Roob: Big dude. Has been with the Cards and Texans and spent a couple months last year on the Eagles’ practice squad. Started a couple games in 2022 for the Cards. Did I mention he's a big dude?

Verdict: Goes

Dave: The Eagles signed Smith to their practice squad in November and it’s not like he came out of nowhere. Smith was a sixth-round pick out of Virginia Tech in 2022 and he even played for the Cardinals as a rookie; he played in 10 games with two starts at right guard. If Opeta ends up leaving as a free agent, Smith will at least have a shot to compete for a roster spot. But I have Opeta returning, which means Smith’s best shot is to land on the practice squad again.

Verdict: Goes

Tyler Steen

Roob: He’s an intriguing one. Didn’t play a lot as a rookie last year, but he replaced Jurgens at the end of the first Washington game and was on the field for a touchdown drive and then played the entire win over Dallas, when the Eagles scored 28 points and improved to 8-1. Those were the days. He didn’t play again, but that little glimpse into Steen’s ability was an encouraging one. We’ll see where Steen ultimately fits in, but I’d expect him to continue to improve under Jeff Stoutland in Year 2 with a chance at becoming a starter if Kelce does hang 'em up.

Verdict: Stays

Dave: It was honestly a little disappointing that Steen wasn’t able to wrestle away the starting right guard job from Opeta when Jurgens was out with injury. After all, we thought Steen was legitimate competition with Jurgens for that job in camp but then he got passed over when the games mattered. Steen made just one start at right guard and it came when Opeta was a bit banged up. But Year 2 could be a big one for Steen, especially if Kelce retires. If that happens, then Jurgens will presumably slide to center and the Eagles would love if Steen takes control of the right guard spot.

Verdict: Stays

Brett Toth

Roob: No, he hasn’t been here longer than Kelce, it just seems that way. Toth first joined the Eagles in the summer of 2019 after getting his military deferment, and he's been on and off the roster and practice squad since then, with brief diversions with the Cards and Panthers along the way. If Stout likes you, you’ll be here forever, and Stout likes Toth. I'd expect Toth to continue his Lifetime Practice Squad Membership, but I doubt we'll ever see him on the field again.

Verdict: Goes

Dave: Another Stoutland project, it’s amazing that Toth has been hanging around this long and he’s played in 20 career games. Heck, he ended up playing in three games with the Panthers just last season before re-joining the Eagles’ practice squad in December. The Eagles tried out Toth at center last training camp and it didn’t go very well. He does offer some guard-tackle versatility but I don’t think he’ll be on the 53-man roster.

Verdict: Goes

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