The Eagles placed starting center Jason Kelce on IR today and signed C Steve Vallos to fill his roster spot. However, Vallos won’t take his place in the lineup. That responsibility falls to Dallas Reynolds.
Reynolds, who most Eagles fans have likely never heard of, has actually hung on with the team for the last 3 seasons as a member of the practice squad. He came to the Eagles as undrafted free agent and originally worked at offensive tackle, but saw time at guard as well. Sunday was the first time he’d ever played guard in a game.
Andy Reid said that they kept Reynolds around for so long because he kept making progress and they believed in him.
“He got stronger, and that is what he needed to do, and he lived in that weight room and got himself where he needed to compete at this level,” Reid said. “He was able to pick up the offense well.”
It probably didn’t hurt that he played o-line for BYU, just like Reid himself.
And Reynolds actually acquitted himself quite well in his first action. Philly mag’s Sheil Kapadia examined the tape and didn’t see any glaring problems after Dallas was subbed in.
Not sure if I tempered my expectations for Reynolds or if he really played well, but I was impressed with the way he came in and performed. I didn’t notice any missed blocks that resulted in a sack or a hit on Vick. On the 13-yard third-down completion to Johnson, he started out with Watkins, double-teaming Ngata, recognized a delayed blitzer and switched to help Mathis. Really nice job for someone seeing his first NFL action.
And it has to be seen as a minor miracle that there wasn’t a single botched snap, which seems to happen like clockwork whenever a backup center comes into a game.
Reynolds says he’s just happy to finally get his shot.
“I was looking forward to this moment for a long time,” Reynolds said. “After a few years on the practice squad, to be active and have a chance to play and start, I am excited for the opportunity.”