Eagles Offensive Line Due For Potential Massive Change Following Jeff Stoutland Departure

Ah, the Philadelphia Eagles’ offensive line, the backbone of the Eagles organization as a whole.

If there’s one thing Eagles general manager Howie Roseman likes to do, it’s building his teams through the trenches. Offensive and defensive lines are probably the most important parts of the Eagles organization, and that can be proven in the amount of draft capital and money that is put into those two units. Six of their 11 highest-paid players on the team are either offensive or defensive linemen.

The offensive line, of course, is the big one with that, as four of the five starting offensive linemen have signed multi-year extensions with the Eagles, and every current starting lineman is an Eagles draft pick. Not just any draft picks — high-end ones as well, as four of the five starters were drafted in the top 65 of their respective drafts.

When in doubt, take offensive line; that had seemed to be the strategy for Philadelphia over the last decade plus, and it had appeared to be working. However, heading into the 2026 season, that strategy may be changing as the offensive line room will be without its leader for the past 13 years, Jeff Stoutland.

Stoutland turned garbage into gold, turning whatever player stepped in front of him into multiple-time Pro Bowl and All-Pro players. From Jason Kelce, Brandon Brooks, Lane Johnson, Jordan Mailata, and so many more, Stoutland has produced some of the best linemen in the sport over the past decade plus.

It’s been something that the Eagles never really had to worry about. They knew Stout would find guys who could plug and play and learn his way of offensive line, and it’d be good enough for the Eagles offense.

However, despite all the success, every group and every man has his breaking point, and with Stoutland, 2025 was that year. Things just didn’t seem the same with this group in 2025; the play was down, the run game looked and felt terrible, and the group as a whole didn’t feel like they were working on the same page.

Constantly, game after game, it felt like Eagles running back Saquon Barkley was getting smashed in the backfield on runs, averaging just 2.5 yards before contact, compared to 3.8 yards in 2024. Quarterback Jalen Hurts felt as if he was under pressure right away. It was a disappointment for this group, who just one year ago helped Barkley rush for over 2,000 yards and helped Hurts lead the Eagles to their second-ever Super Bowl.

So, with Stoutland gone, it’s officially a new era for the offensive line in Philadelphia, and a new era could mean big changes. The group moving forward will be led by former Broncos guard Chris Kuper, who was in the same role in Minnesota.

Now, Kuper isn’t going to have the power that Stoutland had with decisions about the offensive line right away, but an outside and new perspective was needed with this group. A new outlook could return this team to its former glory, but what will it look like?

You have Lane Johnson returning for his 14th year with the team, a move that some didn’t expect, as Johnson missed a significant part of the 2025 season due to a Lisfranc injury. Johnson has been rehabbing, but the 35-year-old right tackle isn’t getting any younger, and the Eagles seriously need to begin the process of potentially finding Johnson’s replacement.

On the left side at tackle, Jordan Mailata will return with three years left on his current deal, and will attempt to improve from his down 2025. Mailata still ranked near the top 10 in terms of PFF tackle rankings, but compared to a season prior, Mailata was the top-performing tackle in 2024.

The interior line is where the real questions lie for next year. You have two guys, Landon Dickerson and Cam Jurgens, both in the middle of their first long-term extensions with the Eagles, and both coming off horrendous years. Dickerson dealt with injuries that rolled over from 2024 and fresh injuries in 2025, and he just never seemed to get back into the swing of things, ranking him near the middle of the pack amongst guards.

The injuries have gotten so bad for Dickerson that he is considering retiring from the NFL at just 27 years old. While the cap space would open up big time for the Eagles if he retired, losing a player like Dickerson would be a detrimental setback for this group, which is trying to keep its core together. Dickerson was supposed to be the future of this line, but plans could quickly change.

Jurgens, on the other hand, was just flat out horrible in 2025. His pass protection was bottom three in the entire league last year, and run blocking wasn’t better. It got so bad that there was a real debate about whether or not benching him was an option. It may have just been a down year, but that tape shows that Jurgens wasn’t good last season, and while a move this offseason seems unlikely, one could be coming if another down year happens.

The other guard for the Eagles, Tyler Steen, had a solid 2025 replacing Mekhi Becton, but his status with the Eagles is up in the air for next season. The Eagles can cut Steen this offseason and save $3.6 million in cap space, and if the team feels they can find a better answer at guard, then cutting Steen is an option.

Whether it’s free agency or the draft, you have to figure the Eagles will be in on the offensive linemen. The Eagles pick at 23 with multiple tackles and guards expected to be available at that pick, and could get up to $41 million in cap space to spend this March. There’s still time for decisions to be made, but the Eagles need to not only retool this group for next year but also begin to start thinking about the future.

The crutch of Stoutland University is gone, and it’s on this regime to take over the offensive line room that Stoutland built.

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