Kelly’s Green Now

The Eagles officially announced the signing of veteran offensive tackle Dennis Kelly, a former Eagles draft pick who enters his 11th season and has played for three other teams, to a one-year deal.

To make room for Kelly, a swing tackle-guard who picked in the fifth round of the 2012 draft, the team placed defensive end Matt Leo on the Reserved/Retired list.

Kelly, 33, has had some injuries the past few years – discussed in Monday’s episode of Inside The Birds – and is considered an emergency option, according to a source with knowledge of the team’s thinking.

GETTY IMAGES: Veteran OT Dennis Kelly, who has played some guard, will attempt to make the Eagles’ roster for the second time in his career.

The Eagles have three players competing to start at right guard – rookie Tyler Steen, second-year center/guard Cam Jurgens, and fourth-year veteran Jack Driscoll. Kelly, the most experienced of the reserve linemen, will try to make the 53.

The 6-foot-7, 280-pound Leo, an Australia native, signed with Eagles in 2020 through the NFL International Player Pathway program and spent his first two years on the practice squad.

Kelly, a Purdue product, has played 134 career games for the Eagles,  Titans, Packers and Colts, starting 54 of those games. He started 10 games as a rookie for the Eagles in 2012 and was traded to Tennessee in 2016 for Dorian Green-Beckham, a second-year wideout and  2015 second-round pick.

Green-Beckham hasn’t played since the 2016 season. Kelly actually has more touchdowns since the start of 2017, with his lone touchdown catch coming for the Titans in 2019.

– Geoff Mosher (@geoffmoshernfl) is co-host of the “Inside the Birds” podcast and staff writer for InsideTheBirds.com.

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