King Dunlap Wins Starting LT Job

When the Eagles take on the Jets this Thursday, none of the starters will play. So if you get the night off and you aren't injured, that makes it pretty clear you've won yourself a starting job. Guess which LT will be getting the night off?

"King won't play. King right now is the starting left tackle."

That's right, King Dunlap will start at LT for the Eagles in week one and he got that job the old fashioned way. He earned it. This isn't like the WILL job that is falling to someone by default, King stepped up this season and took this job on merit.

"You've got to give him credit for what he's done," said Reid. "He's got a long road here to go this season and staying healthy and doing all of those things and playing aggressive football week in and week out. He hasn't had to do that [yet] at this level but you have to give him credit for the battle that he's been in here with [T] Demetress [Bell]. They went after it and they're still going to go after it. Demetress isn't just going to concede. That's not what he is going to do. I think we are fortunate to have two guys here that we know can play but King ended up being the guy that got the number one spot."

This is a massive opportunity for King. The former 7th round pick resigned with the Eagles this offseason on only a one year deal. If he proves to be even an average starting LT in the NFL this season, he could be in for a staggering payday next season. Left tackles are second only to Quarterbacks in terms of salary and there are a lot of teams in this leauge in need of one. Given that King has already played an effective RT, he could really earn himself a fortune this season.

Its good news for the Eagles. They've got a super motivated player who has shown a pretty steady progression over his time here.