Philadelphia Eagles: Will Prince Tega Wanogho start in Week 17?

Will the Philadelphia Eagles unleash their sixth-round pick tomorrow?

The Philadelphia Eagles have made some roster moves prior to Sunday’s game against the Washington Football Team. Left tackle Jordan Mailata has been ruled out after sustaining a concussion on a dirty hit from Jaylon Smith. For some odd reason, Smith was not fined. That’s beside the point though.

As NJ.com’s Mike Kaye reported, Blake Countess, Joe Ostman, and Prince Tega Wanogho have been elevated from the practice squad for this game. With Jalen Mills on the COVID list, Countess will add some depth for the final game of the year. Ostman could get some reps with Derek Barnett officially out. The most intriguing of the three might be Tega-Wanogho.

The Philadelphia Eagles need to give Tega-Wanogho an opportunity.

If not for his injury history, Tega Wanogho might’ve been a high draft pick. Instead, he fell to the Eagles in Round 6. He didn’t make the active roster but they kept him around on the practice squad. Now, with one game left, he might get his shot. At Auburn, Prince mostly played left tackle. The other backup tackle, Brett Toth, has a lot of experience on the right side. He actually had to fill in versus the Baltimore Ravens for 17 snaps earlier this year.

Considering that most of the snaps came on pass plays, Toth played pretty well. For those who don’t know, Army runs a triple-option, flex-bone offense. They have not averaged more than ten passes per game since 2013 in which they only averaged 12.8 passes per game. Pass protection is not something Toth got a lot of experience with at Army but he’s been decent in his snaps this year. It would be smart to give him the start at right tackle and get him extra reps. There is no point in seeing Matt Pryor struggle again.

That leaves the left tackle spot open. The Birds should send Tega Wanogho out there to see what he’s made of. They won’t find out what kind of player he is from just one game but he needs to get thrown into the fire. It’s the final game of the year and Matt Pryor has not earned the nod.

One could argue that it’s a death wish sending Tega Wanogho out there against Washington’s front seven. If we’re being honest, it’s just as much of a death wish to put Brett Toth on the left side and keep Matt Pryor out there. That might be even worse. Toth has been the swing tackle for most of the season but it makes more sense to put him where he is most comfortable especially when Prince is comfortable on the left side. Philly should give the 23-year-old rookie an opportunity.