Eagles Coach May Have Tipped Contingency Plan at RG

Jeff Stoutland had veteran Matt Hennessy taking the second-team reps at RG during OTAs.

John McMullen/Eagles SI

PHILADELPHIA -  The Eagles want second-year player Tyler Steen to take over the right guard position in the 2024 season to the point the organization is trying to visualize that end game.

Steen was given the locker between Cam Jurgens and Lane Johnson and he was one of a handful of players to meet the media after Wednesday’s on-field OTA practice where he spent the the 70-minute session working with the starters at RG.

That doesn’t mean Jeff Stoutland is closing up shop when it comes to competition, something Steen noted.

"I know I gotta earn it every day,” Steen said. “I'm not gonna be given anything. I gotta prove that I should be able to play. That's just how I'm kinda looking at it and I'll continue to look at it."

Veteran Matt Hennessy was signed with the intent of being the game-day interior backup if the Temple product can stay healthy, something that alluded him in Atlanta over the past two seasons when a pair of knee injuries derailed the 2022 and 2023 campaigns for him.

Before that Hennessy proved to be an ascending player with the Falcons at both center and left guard.

One complication of Hennessy potentially pushing or even being the fail-safe for Steen at RG was the thought that he would also be the top backup for center Cam Jurgens. If you’re taking reps in the pivot with the second team that means you aren’t taking them at RG.

For one day at least Stoutland alleviated that by allowing the versatile Brett Toth to handle second-team center work which allowed Hennessy to handle the RG reps behind Steen.

Toth, a natural tackle who has played all five positions on the line, also worked at center last summer but struggled with shotgun snaps forcing the Eagles to bring in veteran Josh Andrews to settle down the issue.

This time around, Stoutland has sixth-round pick Dylan McMahon around to handle the center work and make sure the second- and/or third-team reps are not derailed.

The thought seems to be that Hennessy is proven enough to slide down to center whenever called upon and to take advantage of the oversized 90-man offseason roster to allow the veteran to make sure Steen is pushing himself to get ready for Week 1.   

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