Philadelphia Eagles Make Smart Signing In Stefen Wisniewski

The stellar offseason for the Philadelphia Eagles continues to roll on, despite all this nonsense about them trading up for the No. 1 overall pick. The Eagles signed former Jacksonville Jaguars starting guard Stefen Wisniewski to a one-year deal, presumably locking up the starting offensive line going into the season.

It was a perfect arrangement of both want and need. The Eagles needed a second starting guard after signing Brandon Brooks, because you already knew Matt Tobin and Allen Barbre weren’t going to hack it. And the Eagles also needed a backup center after David Molk’s retirement, so the fact that Wisniewski has experience at both positions seals up the line nicely.

Wisniewski is also the type of player the Eagles wanted because he’s cheap, serviceable and didn’t require a multi-year commitment. For a team that needs time to establish some sense of rhythm and steadiness with its roster, Wisniewski buys it that time. It certainly seems like Doug Pederson doesn’t want to have to rush his future draft picks onto the field, so this has to be seen as a positive based on that alone.

I’m also hoping that between Wisniewski and Brooks, center Jason Kelce will start to look like the solid center we hoped he’d be. Not that Kelce has been spectacularly bad, but he hasn’t looked as sharp as we’ve seen him. I think the lackluster play the Eagles got from their guards lately played a big part in that. Or maybe Kelce just isn’t that good. Who knows? But I’m looking forward to seeing him bounce back with some elevated play around him. It would definitely be exciting to see what a boosted line does for the likes of Ryan Mathews and Sam Bradford.

At least on paper, the Eagles’ offensive line is noticeably better than it was last year. Now we just have to hope it plays like it.