5 offensive linemen for Eagles to target in free agency this year

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When NFL free agency begins on March 16, the Eagles will be looking to bolster a roster that made it to the playoffs in Year 1 under Nick Sirianni.

We’ll look position-by-position for some possible targets. We started with running backs, receivers and quarterbacks and will continue with offensive linemen today.

Brandon Brooks retired and the Eagles will miss him but he hasn’t played much the last two years anyway. The big question on the O-line is about the future of Jason Kelce. If he returns, then the Eagles are in a really good spot. If he retires, then they have to figure out how to replace him. There are some other questions too, like how will Isaac Seumalo be coming off a Lisfranc injury and will the Eagles end up trading Andre Dillard?

Anyway, here are five offensive line options that might interest the Eagles in free agency:

Ben Jones: The biggest question for the Eagles this offseason is about Kelce. The 34-year-old is still playing at an extremely high level and the Eagles would obviously love to have him back for the 2022 season. But if he decides to retire, then the Eagles will have to come up with a contingency plan. The most obvious choice would be to move Isaac Seumalo to center and keep Landon Dickerson at left guard and then they move forward with Jack Driscoll at right guard. The Eagles could also use a draft pick (maybe Tyler Linderbaum in the first round) on a center. But perhaps they could go the free agency route too. The most expensive center on the market is going to be Ryan Jensen, whose contract is up with the Bucs. But another cheaper option would be Jones, whose contract in Tennessee is up. Jones is 32 but he’s been very durable in his NFL career and has played well the last few seasons for the Titans. This wouldn’t be a long-term fix but it would do the trick for now.

Alex Cappa: If the Bucs end up paying big money to keep Jensen then maybe they won’t be able to bring back starting right guard Alex Cappa. The 6-6, 305-pound guard was a developmental prospect coming out of Humbolt State in the third round back in 2018 but he’s been a starter the last three years and continues to get better. He’s still just 27. So in this scenario, perhaps Kelce retires, the Eagles move Seumalo to center and then want to sign a right guard to upgrade the position over the combination of Driscoll and Nate Herbig. The problem with this plan is that Ali Marpet, the Bucs' other guard, just announced his retirement.

Germain Ifedi: The Seahawks used a first-round pick on Ifedi back in 2016 and he hasn’t proven himself to be a top-notch tackle in the NFL. But he’s played 85 games in six NFL seasons and offers some guard/tackle flexibility. With the Bears in 2021, Ifedi played in just nine games because of a knee injury. As a sixth offensive lineman, Ifedi would be a nice add if the price doesn’t get too high.

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Cornelius Lucas: If the Eagles trade Andre Dillard and aren’t sold on Le’Raven Clark as their top backup tackle, then they could be in the market for an experienced swing tackle. And Lucas has held that role recently for the Washington football team. While Lucas played right tackle for the WFT in 2021, he played almost exclusively on the left in 2020. The 30-year-old has been in the NFL since 2014, has played for five different teams but could be a valuable addition as a backup.

Mark Glowinski: Here we go with the Indy connection. Glowinski, 29, has been in the NFL since 2015 but has played his last four seasons in Indy, including three with Sirianni as his offensive coordinator. The Colts have a superstar left guard in Quenton Nelson, so maybe they can’t afford to re-up their right guard. If so, the Eagles could bring him in as a Brandon Brooks replacement. While we’re talking about former Colts, also keep Sam Tevi in mind. While Tevi didn’t get to Indy until after Sirianni left, he had previously played with the Chargers and began his career when Sirianni and Shane Steichen were on staff.

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