A couple of articles this morning revealed some interesting things about how the Eagles depth chart not only now but for the future might be shaping up. First, Tra Thomas was held out of practice yesterday with some back spasms but it was not backup LT King Dunlap who filled in for him. Starting LG Todd Herremans took over at LT.
If Thomas cannot play again this season at any point, it appears as if Herremans will move from guard to tackle, which is the position he played as a rookie in 2005. Reid said Justice is going to concentrate on playing right tackle while rookie King Dunlap works at left tackle. Dunlap, in fact, worked with the first-team offense during the Eagles' rain-induced indoor practice yesterday afternoon.
Herremans "enjoys starting at guard, but if you asked him his choice . . . he's going to tell you tackle," Reid said. "That's what he sees himself as. He's doing a heck of a job right now at guard, too. He's having his best camp so far."
Obviously Reid feels his best LT outside of Tra at this point is Herremans, and would rather move the whole line around to get Herremans out there than risk a repeat of the last time Tra was out of the lineup. For now, Scott Young filled at LG when Herremans slid out... but it's probably safe to assume that Max Jean Gilles would fill that role when Shawn Andrews returns.
Another note caught my eye about who was working with the first team offense in the absence of Reggie Brown.
DeSean Jackson, who had five catches against the Steelers, continued to work a lot with the first-team offense because Reggie Brown still is out with an Achilles' inflammation. He made a nifty one-handed grab in the end zone against Joselio Hanson
Desean had a really solid game against the Steelers and certainly earned himself a look with the first team. He seemed to get open with ease against the Steelers' backups, so it would be nice to see what he can do against a first a team defense this Thursday as the Eagles host the Panthers.
As for guys no longer on the depth chart, Kimo VonO is gone. Kimo just never got healthy this offseason and therefore, wasn't really of any use. To replace him, the Eagles signed a DT out of ASU named Michael Marquardt