Philadelphia Eagles: Where Will They Find a Center?

With the injury to Jason Kelce, Dallas Reynolds steps into the role of starting center, at least until November and maybe for the entire season.

A quick look at the Eagles' roster and practice squad shows no other center listed. Maybe one of the guards can do this temporarily, but this could cause a hole somewhere else.

So where will the team pick up another center? I don’t have any answers, but can just list some possibilities.

Chase Beeler was on the practice squad but was released on September 13th when the team needed to add a wide receiver in light of the injury concerns of both Jeremy Maclin and DeSean Jackson. Beeler played center with Andrew Luck at Stanford and spent the 2011 season on the 49ers’ taxi squad.

Could the team try to turn rookie Nate Menkin into a center? He played multiple positions at college, but throwing him at center and having him call blocking responsibilities might be a little too much.

The highest-ranked center in the 2012 draft not on a 53 man roster is Quentin Saulsberry, out of Mississippi and on the Broncos practice squad. Next down would be David Snow out of Texas and on the Bills practice squad.

Do the Eagles try to bring back Jamaal Jackson at age 32?  With his injury history, this would be problematic. For a while this summer, the Cowboys were trying to work out a deal with him but things ended up falling through.

How about Julian Vandervelde, who was the team’s fifth-round draft pick in 2011? Could they try to turn this guard into a center?

With King Dunlap also leaving Sunday’s game with an injury, the Eagles have some serious depth issues on the offensive line and not a lot of time to address them before Week 3.

This is one of the many times when Howie Roseman has to weave some magic and earn his keep. Let’s see what he can make happen this week.

Update: Comcast is reporting that the Eagles have re-signed veteran center Steve Vallos, who has started seven NFL games at center with the Seahawks during 2008 and 2009. Vallos practiced with Eagles during OTAs and preseason. He has played in a total of 40 NFL games.