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Philadelphia Eagles offensive lineman Drew Kendall (66) warms up, Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

Eagles Reveal Another Potential Contingency At Left Guard

Originally posted on Philadelphia Eagles on SI
By John McMullen | Last updated Aug 16, 2025 7:30 PM ET

Saturday’s 22-13 preseason loss to the Cleveland Browns wasn’t the most aesthetic performance from an Eagles’ standpoint.

It featured 88 yards of total offense from the reigning Super Bowl champions and poor performances in situational football, like third-down defense, something head coach Nick Sirianni prides himself on.

“I felt like it was just not great complementary football today,” Sirianni admitted after the game. “When you have the heat [on the quarterbacks] like that, you want to be able to [make up for that in different ways].

“Defense had some long drives, offense had some three-and-outs, and you want to be able to play complementary football in that area. … It wasn’t good enough out there on the field today. Coaching, playing, anything.”

Something was interesting out there, however, and that was the handling of that left guard position in the absence of Pro Bowl stalwart Landon Dickerson, who underwent meniscus surgery earlier this week and is touch to go to play in the regular-season opener against Dallas on Sept. 4.

In joint practices with the Browns in the lead-up to the game, Brett Toth was running with the ones, and Darrian Kinnard, who spent the first 13 practices of the summer on the right side as both a backup at guard and tackle, was handling the second-team reps at LG.

On Saturday, Toth did get the start at LG while rookie Drew Kendall handled the center position. At halftime, the two switched with Toth finishing inside at the pivot and Kendall moving to LG.

A center only at Boston College, Kendall has also stayed strictly there in camp, at least in front of prying eyes.

"I had an idea a couple days ago,” Kendall said when asked when he was told about the LG cross-training. “... I had some walk-through reps there [on Friday], so I knew going into the game, I was going to get some guard reps.”

Kendall’s father, Pete, was a star OG in the NFL for 13 seasons, but is hesitant to offer the tricks of the trade.

“A little bit,” Kendall said when asked if his dad will offer any advice. “Not too much. Wherever you're at, you're kind of taking the coaching in the system you're in.  So you can give some ideas and some tips, that's about it."

In Philadelphia, that means the best OL coach in the business in Jeff Stoutland, who is hard at work working on the contingency for the short term if Dickerson has to miss a game or two.

Pulling the Kendall trigger means the plan is still up in the air.

"I don't know what the hardest part is,” Kendall said of moving over. “I think it's just a familiarity thing, you know?  Like, when you're so used to playing in one spot, even in the huddle, like, I was calling for the huddle sometimes, I was like, wait, I'm not at center. That was funny.

“Just kind of getting used to it and just like getting more comfortable."

This article first appeared on Philadelphia Eagles on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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