Folks at training camp have gotten a good laugh or two watching G.J. Kinne try his hand on special teams. It’s not often you see the guys in the red jerseys on the receiving end of a big hit like Kinne was a week or two back while blocking on a kick return. Typically you don’t find a quarterback lined up anywhere but under center at all.
The rules are a bit different when you’re the fifth arm in camp. Kinne has virtually no shot at making the Eagles’ 53-man roster – he’s not even really here for that. Best case probably is he beats out Dennis Dixon for a spot on the practice squad. More likely the Tulsa product is just a camp body, an extra man to toss intentional interceptions to the defensive backs so the other QBs don’t strain themselves. If he gets some good work on film in one of these preseason games, maybe he catches on somewhere else.
That special teams stuff? Just being helpful and a good teammate, which can’t hurt him down the line, either.
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Only Kinne doesn’t view it that way. Per Alec Nathan, a contributor for CSN, the 24 year old believes his versatility can’t hurt his chances of making the Eagles’ roster. In fact, it sounds like he’s itching to get a shot on the third unit in an actual preseason game.
“I’m just trying to help the team win games,” Kinne said after Monday’s practice. “If it’s special teams, run down a kickoff, kickoff return, punt, punt return, I’m just doing whatever I can to help them in practice, and if they’ll put me in the game then I’m going to do it in the game.”
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“I don’t know [if I’ll wind up on special teams],” Kinne said. “I just know whenever they put me in there I’m going 100 percent, full speed and giving it my all, and hopefully they see that I can help them somehow.”
Kinne’s odds of making the 53-man roster remain slim, but he acknowledged that putting in work on special teams could make the decision a bit tougher for the Eagles’ coaching staff.
“The more I can do," he said, "it’s harder for them to let me go."
I’d venture a guess that Kinne is not going to make the squad as a special teams ace, and I’d still be a little surprised to see him running down a kick or something in an actual game, exhibition or otherwise – although neither party really has anything to lose from it. You really have to admire Kinne a bit for this though. Guy is willing to do whatever it takes to try to make it in the NFL. Cool story, worth a read.