The 2026 season is a pivotal one for the Philadelphia Eagles as the franchise slowly begins to make drastic changes as it enters a new era.
Philly traded away A.J. Brown and restructured the offensive coaching staff to be led by first-time play caller Sean Mannion. Perhaps the most dramatic change was on the offensive line, with Jeff Stoutland departing and Chris Kuper taking over a unit that is usually great but now has some questions. ESPN Eagles reporter Tim McManus worries about the offensive line amid durability issues with the starters.
"The offensive line has long been a strength of this franchise but took a step back last season, largely because of injury. Center Cam Jurgens and left guard Landon Dickerson never quite looked like themselves. Both went to Colombia this offseason to receive stem cell treatment in hopes of returning to form. All-Pro tackle Lane Johnson, meanwhile, was sidelined for the last eight games with a Lisfranc injury. Johnson and Dickerson pondered retirement in recent months. When healthy, this line is capable of historic achievements as demonstrated in '24 with running back Saquon Barkley's record-breaking season. But there are a couple of warning signs that the group may be in decline. The group needs to rebound to lead what has been mainly a run-dependent attack."
Eagles might have some problems with the offensive line in 2026
Barkley went from averaging 5.8 yards per carry in 2024 to 4.1 in 2025, highlighting the problematic issues the Eagles had running the football. Usually, this team is an easy lock to be a top-five rushing attack, but instead finished 18th with 116.9 yards per game.
While the injuries are a major problem for this Eagles offensive line, there might be bigger problems than that. As long as everyone can stay healthy, Philly has four of the best offensive linemen at their positions in the NFL. More of the problems come behind those five starters.
Depth was a massive problem last year as the Eagles felt like they had no choice but to play Dickerson and Jurgens when they clearly were not 100%. Fred Johnson and Brett Toth put up honorable performances last season starting, but they did not give the Eagles what they needed.
This has forced the Eagles to reevaluate the offensive line in the offseason, starting with Toth and Matt Pryor departing for free agency. They then selected Markel Bell and Micah Morris in the 2026 NFL Draft. Adding Michael Jordan to the depth of the offensive line, things appear to be okay for the moment.
Read more: Forgotten Eagles draft pick could already be buried before training camp
Philly should be grateful that guys like Lane Johnson and Dickerson decided to stick around after mulling over retirement, and Jurgens was able to get the help he needed to handle his back issues. 2026 is an important year for the line; if things don't get better, the 2027 offseason might be spent blowing up the line and starting over from scratch.
Add us as a preferred source on Google