From vomiting to early injuries to replacing Kelce, is Eagles' O-line in a messy place?

PHILADELPHIA − On the first day of training camp last week, Mekhi Becton threw up repeatedly on the sideline.

Becton, a mountain of a man who's 6-foot-7, 363 pounds, never left practice, nor was he surprised that he, um, coughed up his breakfast.

"If you look at my history, I throw up every first practice," Becton said. "And I still go out there and practice, so I don't know why was that a story ... It's not like I threw up and said, 'Nah, I'm done.'"

Besides, Becton doesn't have time to contemplate his first-day anxieties. In four practices, Becton has already played left guard, right tackle, and his newest position on Monday, right guard.

Becton, it should be noted, was drafted as a tackle in the first round in 2020 by the Jets and had never played anywhere but there until signing a one-year free agent deal with the Eagles in the spring.

And Becton might just stay at right guard now that Tyler Steen, who was given the first crack at winning the starting job, is "going to be out for a little bit," Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said Monday.

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Steen left practice Saturday with an ankle injury. There's no timetable for a return.

Right tackle Lane Johnson, a perennial Pro Bowl player, also sat out practice Monday. Johnson has a toe injury and is considered day to day, according to a source.

Still, it's all part of an Eagles offensive line that was already in flux with long-time center Jason Kelce's retirement, and with Cam Jurgens moving from right guard to center to replace Kelce.

Perhaps Jurgens, then, should be the one vomiting from anxiety.

After all, it's not easy replacing a legend like Kelce, who played for 13 seasons, was selected to 7 Pro Bowls, 6 All Pro teams, and will likely be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as soon as he's eligible in five years.

Jurgens, who's in his third season after the Eagles drafted him in the second round in 2022 − with Kelce's blessing − already seems to have the right mindset to replace Kelce.

"Cam's an extremely smart dude," left guard Landon Dickerson said. "It's gonna be tough for him because the comparison is always gonna be Kelce, right?

"He's gonna hear it from (media and fans) all the time. That's gonna happen. No offense, you guys got used to (Kelce), and that's gonna be your comparison. And so, he's handling that extremely well. It's not trying to replace Kelce. Cam's gonna make his own legacy, his own path, his own destiny."

Jurgens will have to make that path relatively quickly. Among many things, Kelce was best at recognizing and calling out defenses, giving quarterback Jalen Hurts a pre-snap idea of where to go with the ball.

Jurgens has had the benefit of learning from Kelce the past two years − from the sidelines as Kelce's backup in 2022, and from playing next to Kelce at right guard last season.

"I think we work on that every day," Jurgens said about communicating with Hurts. "It’s fun getting to meet with him and going through and seeing what he’s seeing and what I’m seeing, and how we want to mesh and who wants to control, and how we can do it together. It’s a team. It’s a process.

"But I don’t think anybody is going to have full control of everything."

All of that comes with the backdrop of learning a new offense under coordinator Kellen Moore.

Becton, meanwhile, is learning a new team, new offense and a new position at both right and left guard. When Becton signed, he knew he could serve as a swing tackle, backing up both left tackle Jordan Mailata and Johnson.

But Becton said he was also willing to learn guard, thinking that might be his best way to earning a starting job.

That would have to be on the right side because Dickerson is a two-time Pro Bowl player at left guard. It was a mixed bag Monday. On one play, Becton stood up defensive tackle Jalen Carter and stopped his bull rush. On another, Becton would likely have been called for holding as he pulled down a pass rusher.

In addition to Steen and Becton, Matt Hennessy, Max Scharping and Darian Kinnard could be in the mix for the starting right guard spot.

"It's an adjustment, but it's not a hard adjustment," Becton said. "I can do it. It's fun actually. I can look at Lane (at right tackle), see what he's doing. I can look over to Landon (at left guard), then see what he's doing. Then I got Jordan (at left tackle), see what he's doing. I just learn from everybody all day every day."

Jurgens can learn, too, saying he can text Kelce whenever he has a question.

"He’s always there if I have to ask him some questions," Jurgens said. "So I know I can rely on that if I get stuck and need some help or something like that."

Eagles training camp observations, Day 4

• It was a good day for second-year edge rusher Nolan Smith. On consecutive plays while with the first team, Smith had a "sack" on Hurts, then was in the backfield forcing Hurts from the pocket. The Eagles are hoping for a big jump from Smith after a relatively disappointing rookie year.
• RB Saquon Barkley missed practice for a personal matter, so that meant more reps for rookie Will Shipley and Kenny Gainwell. And on consecutive plays, they both showed how dangerous they can be in the passing game. Shipley caught a pass from Hurts on a wheel route for about 25 yards. Gainwell did the exact same thing on the next play.
• As for lineups, James Bradberry and Avonte Maddox were the second-team safeties, with Tristin McCollum working in with them as well. Bradberry, in fact, broke up a short pass from Kenny Pickett.
• The Eagles will hold their first padded practice of camp on Tuesday. When asked about that, linebacker Nakobe Dean said: "I’m glad that we’re getting pads because this T-shirt and shorts is cute. But we play football in pads."

Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on X @Mfranknfl.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: From vomiting to early injuries to replacing Kelce, is Eagles' O-line in a messy place?