Eagles mailbag: Explaining the signing of Dennis Kelly

Eagles mailbag: Explaining the signing of Dennis Kelly originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Plenty of teams have already starting training camp and the Eagles will join them this coming week.

The Birds report for training camp on Tuesday and will hold their first practice of the summer on Wednesday. It’s finally here!

We’ll have plenty of coverage coming up from training camp but before then, here’s a dip into the mailbag to answer some of your questions. As always, thanks for all of them:

The Eagles last week reached a deal to bring back 2012 draft pick Dennis Kelly. The 33-year-old veteran has carved out a nice career as a fifth-round draft pick. In his 11-year career, Kelly has played in 130 games with 54 starts.

So why did the Eagles bring him in?

Well, I wouldn’t read into anything about the starting right guard. The signing of Kelly really doesn’t have anything to do with that. Cam Jurgens is going to have the first crack at that job but he’ll have to hold off rookie Tyler Steen.

The signing of Kelly is just about depth. The Eagles had exceptional depth at tackle last year because they still had Andre Dillard in the final year of his contract. Obviously, Dillard didn’t work out as a first-round pick but having him coming off the bench was a really nice luxury. And now he's gone after signing with the Titans as a free agent.

But as great as the Eagles’ depth was on the offensive line last year, they had a unique setup. Dillard basically became the backup at left tackle and left guard and Driscoll was the backup at right guard and right tackle. I had never seen that before. I’m curious to see who lines up at right tackle when Lane Johnson gets his first veteran day off in camp. Because that job has belonged to Driscoll in recent seasons but Kelly definitely has swing tackle potential. He’s played on both sides of the line during his career and has actually lined up more at right tackle than left in his career.

Really, this move just gives the Eagles even more options than they had before. Kelly is a legitimate option to play left tackle or right and Driscoll is an option to play pretty much everywhere but center. On top of that, Steen (if he doesn’t win the starting gig) offers a backup option at guard and perhaps even tackle. The more options the better.

If all goes to plan, I’m not sure we see much of Ringo in 2023. The Eagles have Darius Slay and James Bradberry back as their starters this season. So if those guys stay healthy, they’re obviously not going to leave the field. The Eagles’ nickel cornerback Avonte Maddox has dealt with injuries in recent seasons but Ringo (6-2, 207) isn’t an ideal fit inside.

Could the Eagles think about a position switch for Ringo and get him some work at safety? Maybe. But they will probably bring him along at one position first.

The big question for Ringo this summer is whether or not he looks like a legitimate backup outside cornerback as a rookie. Because the Eagles brought in veteran Greedy Williams in free agency this offseason but didn’t give him much guaranteed money. There are a few players fighting for back of the roster spots at cornerback and he’s one of them. If Ringo looks ready to be a backup, it might make Williams’ job less secure.

There are really two battles as it pertains to the safety position:

1. There are three guys fighting for two starting jobs: Reed Blankenship, Terrell Edmunds and rookie Sydney Brown. During the spring, we saw Blankenship and Edmunds lining up as the starters and I’d expect that to continue as training camp begins. We’ll have to see if the Eagles begin mix in Brown as the summer goes on. After losing both starters from the 2022 season in free agency, the Eagles aren’t in a terrible spot going into 2023.

2. After those three, there’s a decent chance the Eagles keep just four safeties on the roster. So that could lead to a second battle for a roster spot between incumbent backup/special teamer K’Von Wallace and free agent addition Justin Evans. The Eagles clearly targeted Evans in free agency; they’ve had their eye on the former second-round pick for a while. But Wallace played fairly well in limited action on defense last year and has become a solid special teamer.

The most obvious answer here is punter Ty Zentner. He just has to beat out one guy — Arryn Siposs — to win a roster spot and a significant role. I’d still have Siposs as the favorite but Zentner definitely has a shot.

Not sure if any of the rest of them have a chance to carve out a legitimate role as rookies but some have a chance to win roster spots. Clemson receiver Joseph Ngata got $230K in guaranteed money to lead the class, so we’ll keep an eye on him this summer. Cornerback Eli Ricks is in a crowded competition but we saw UDFA Josh Jobe emerge out of a crowded competition at that position last year.

This feels like algebra. Are you making me do math!?!?

As a reminder, the Eagles enter an absolute buzz saw coming back from their Week 10 bye, when they face the Chiefs, Bills, 49ers and Cowboys in consecutive games. So, yeah, it would behoove the Birds to build up a bit of buffer. It’s somewhat realistic to think the Eagles could start off with a 7-2 record or perhaps even better before the bye. But if the Eagles have just 4 or 5 wins before their bye, that would be a bad spot to be in.

This is a really tough question. Cox had a good season last year. He started all 17 games in the regular season, had 7 sacks, 43 tackles, 14 QB hits and 7 tackles for loss.

Since 2006, there has been just one rookie defensive tackle to have 7 sacks and 14 QB hits and that was Ndamukong Suh in 2010. So if Cox has the same kind of season in 2023 that he had in 2022, it’s hard to project that Carter will top him.

Carter has legitimate Pro Bowl and All-Pro potential in the NFL and landing in Philly is really great for him. But I’ll still take Cox as the answer to this question.

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