The Eagles Offensive Line is Old

Jimmy Kempski of Philly.com released his yearly offensive line age post and it just so turns out that the Eagles starting OL is really old (NFL wise!). At an average age of 29 years old, the Eagles own the second oldest offensive line in the NFL. Only the New England Patriots at an average of 29.2 are (slightly) older. More explanation from Kempski:

The Eagles' offensive line is old. How old are they? The Eagles' OL is so old, that...

• 13 NFL teams have no projected starters on their OL over the age of 30. 12 teams only have 1. The Eagles have 3.

• Evan Mathis is the oldest projected starting OG in the NFL.

• Jason Peters is the 2nd oldest projected starting OT in the NFL.

• Todd Herremans is the 5th oldest projected starting OG in the NFL.

• Mathis, Peters, and Herremans are all among the 12 oldest offensive linemen in the NFL. Here's a list of all the projected NFL OL starters over the age of 31.

This realization hardly comes as a surprise. Last year, the Eagles featured the NFL's 8th oldest offensive line. The Eagles are returning all five of their starters so it's no surprise the average age only went up.

"Old" isn't necessarily bad in the short-term (I assure you there is no ageism going on here) when you consider the talent the Eagles have up front. Left tackle Jason Peters is still playing at a very high level and so is left guard Evan Mathis. Jason Kelce, the second youngest Eagles offensive lineman, is one of the best centers in the league. Todd Herremans had a rough start in 2013 but played better down the stretch. It's worth noting his struggles weren't being helped by the fact he was coming off a foot injury and making a position change (tackle to guard), not to mention having to play next to a rookie right tackle. Speaking of that rookie, former first round pick Lane Johnson returns as the Eagles' offensive lineman and the heir apparent at left tackle.

In the long-term, it's fair to wonder what the Eagles are going to do to replace the current regime. Aside from Johnson switching to LT and Kelce staying at C, there aren't many obvious future answers on the roster. Swing tackle Allen Barbre will be turning 30 this season. Matt Tobin (who the team seems to be high on) and Michael Bamiro are projects with potential but far from proven at this point. Perhaps one of the undrafted free agents that the Eagles signed will emerge as a sleeper candidate for years to come, but again, that's hard to count on.

The Eagles missed out on selecting an offensive lineman from the 2014 NFL Draft. That's probably OK in the short-term. However, the long-term OL picture should be coming into focus before it gets too late and the Eagles are forced to replace multiple players up front all at once.