Markel Bell will be making his second NFL start, making him one of the Eagles’ most experienced offensive linemen.
With Lane Johnson retired, Cam Jurgens a Raven, Landon Dickerson on injured reserve for at least another week and Drew Kendall likely out with a knee injury, Willie Lampkin and Jake Majors will both make their first NFL starts on Sunday when the Eagles take on the Jaguars in London.
Most likely, Lampkin will start at left guard with Majors at center, although those roles could be reversed. And rookie 6th round pick Micah Morris – who has also never started an NFL game – is another possibility to start at left guard, which would move Lampkin to center.
Whoever starts, it will be the least experienced offensive line the Eagles have used since the 1944 season opener against the Boston Yanks, when three linemen made their NFL debuts.
Left tackle Jordan Mailata, a nine-year veteran, and right guard Tyler Steen, a 2nd-year starter, will be the only Eagles offensive linemen to start a game before last weekend.
“I have a lot of confidence in the guys that are going to play in the game,” Sirianni said before Friday’s practice. “You always try to attack the defense the way you think you should attack the defense, but you also think about what they do well and what you do well and what the defense is going to do to formulate your best possible plan to come out and give yourself the best chance to win.”
For Lampkin and Majors, the challenge will be magnified since they will play next to each other in their first career starts.
Lampkin and Majors were both rookies last year but never took the field. Lampkin started with the Rams before joining the Eagles in August and spending the year on injured reserve. Majors spent all of last year on the Eagles’ practice squad and is still on the practice squad, although he was promoted on Sunday.
Both had good training camps, but there’s a big jump between training camp and facing the Jaguars in England in your NFL debut.
“Have a ton of confidence in this room, these two guys, and this is not a 53-man roster,” Sirianni said. “We treat it like, ‘Hey, we have 69 guys on this football team,’ and there’s a reason why Jake is here, there’s a reason why Willie is here, and they both had great camps. They both played well in their time when they came in and played in the preseason, whether it was in a joint practice, whether it was a regular practice or whether it was in a preseason game.
“I’m so excited about them, who they are, what type of teammates they are and what type of players they are. And they’re here for a reason.”
A week like this could potentially be traumatic for the entire team, especially the offensive line following Johnson’s abrupt retirement and the surprise trade of Jurgens to the Ravens.
Sirianni said he thought his team was handling things as well as possible.
“I think we had a good week of preparation,” he said. “We have a lot of good guys and a lot of good people in this building, and so it was a good week of preparation. It felt like we stuck together and attacked the week the way we needed to.”
Friday was Sirianni’s first opportunity to talk about the trade of Jurgens, a two-time Pro Bowler whose level of play had dropped significantly this year, both in the first game at center and in the last three games at left guard.
“You know, I love Cam,” he said. “And he gave so much to this football team. I think about that NFC championship game in ’24, where he was dressed, he was hurting, and Saquon walks up to him and says, ‘Hey, thanks for giving us everything you got.’ He always gave everything he had. I’m going to miss him a lot.
“I feel really confident in the room, in the person we have there and the direction we’re moving forward, and I wish Cam nothing but the best, but I feel really good about everyone that’s in this room.”
Gn sports
