Former Eagles O-Lineman Tears ACL

Sua Opeta, who started six for the Eagles last season, tore his ACL at practice this week with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Eagles' Sua Opeta (78) warms up before Military Appreciation Night Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field.
Eagles' Sua Opeta (78) warms up before Military Appreciation Night Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field. / Jerry Habraken, The News Journal via Imagn Content Services, LLC
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PHILADELPHIA - Former Eagles offensive lineman Sua Opeta suffered a torn ACL at practice with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this week, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.

Opeta, 27, had been battling Ben Bredeson for the starting left guard position with Tampa. The two were rotating first-team reps, according to Bucs beat writer Jenna Laine of ESPN.

Opeta played in 13 games for the Eagles last season, starting six -- one at LG and five at RG. He played a career-high 527 snaps (46% of the Eagles’ offensive total.)

Originally an undrafted free agent out of Weber State in 2019, Opeta was a part of the Eagles’ organization for parts of five seasons, playing in a total of 38 games with 10 starts. 

At one point early in his career Miami tried to sign Opeta off the Eagles’ practice squad and Philadelphia elevated him to the 53-man roster.

At 6-foot-4 and 305 pounds he was a part of the somewhat-famous strength program at Weber State and did 39 reps at 225 pounds at the 2019 NFL combine, the most among any offensive lineman who participated that year.

Opeta signed a one-year, $1.125 million contract with Tampa Bay in March as a free agent with a $250K signing bonus and $650K in total guarantees.

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John McMullen

JOHN MCMULLEN

John McMullen is a veteran reporter who has covered the NFL for over two decades. The current NFL insider for JAKIB Media, John is the former NFL Editor for The Sports Network where his syndicated column was featured in over 200 outlets including the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, and Miami Herald. He was also the national NFL columnist for Today's Pigskin as well as FanRag Sports. McMullen has covered the Eagles on a daily basis since 2016, first for ESPN South Jersey and now for Eagles Today on SI.com's FanNation. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube.com. John is also the host of his own show "Extending the Play" on AM1490 in South Jersey and part of 6ABC.com's live postgame show after every Eagles game. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen