Not surprisingly, Matt Pryor was asked if he’s surprised the Eagles have him and not Jason Peters working at left tackle, at least for the time being.
And not surprisingly, he wasn’t going anywhere near that one.
“Nah. Whatever business they got going on, that’s between them,” Pryor said. “Me, whatever opportunity I get, I’m about to take. I’m gonna take advantage of what I get.”
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Philadelphia sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
For a guy who’s never started a regular-season game, Pryor all of a sudden has become a very important member of the Philadelphia Eagles.
With Brandon Brooks and Andre Dillard both out, Pryor will almost certainly be an opening-day starter when the Eagles play in Washington two weeks from today.
But where?
Good luck trying to figure that out.
NFL
Depending what the Eagles figure out with Peters, it could be right guard or it could be left tackle. Heck, it could be right tackle if the Eagles move Lane Johnson over to left tackle. And it could even be left guard if the Eagles figure they’re stronger with Isaac Seumalo at RG and someone else at LG.
At practice on Saturday, Pryor was taking reps with the first-team offense at left tackle. But nothing is etched in stone. And until the Eagles figure out if Peters is their left tackle or not, it will remain up in the air.
But Pryor says he's ready for anything.
“I feel comfortable at all four,” Pryor said. “I don’t touch center. I don’t think I’ve ever played center. But as far as the guard and tackle spots, I’m pretty comfortable on both sides of the ball. Last year I got reps on both sides at guard and tackle. I played the whole preseason on the left side. In college played on the right side. So I’m comfortable with that.”
Pryor, a sixth-round pick in 2018, got his first career playing time last year in the first Seattle game, after Dillard got benched and Halapoulivaati Vaitai moved from right guard to right tackle. Then he made his first start in the Seattle playoff game in place of Brooks.
But even though he barely has any experience, he has more experience than the other backup linemen — Sua Opeta, Nate Herbig, Jack Driscoll, Prince Tega Wanogho, Luke Juriga and Julian Good-Jones.
Pryor looks the part.
He stands 6-foot-7, 330 pounds.
“During the offseason I really put the grind in to better understand the playbook,” he said. “Whatever opportunity I get, I’m gonna give my full effort on it. I’m comfortable wherever the coaches put me.”
Pryor and Big V were teammates at TCU, and Big V parlayed his versatility into a starting spot in place of Peters in the Super Bowl and a $45 million contract with the Lions.
Pryor believes he can be the same sort of swing player that Big V was. Maybe not the best at any one spot but capable of holding it down almost anywhere.
“It kind of comes natural,” the 25-year-old Pryor said. “I worked the left side my rookie year a little bit. Last year I worked it all preseason. And then during the season, I’d jump in when some of the starters were trying to get a little recovery in. I’d go in at left guard, left tackle, right guard, right tackle. But again, it all comes down to repetitions. Once your body gets a certain amount of reps, your body kind of gets used to jumping around. … The more reps I get, the better I’m going to improve at it. “
We know a lot about Pryor. We just don’t know how good he is.
He’s big and tough and strong and definitely not lacking in confidence. But he’s got a lot to prove.
And two weeks before the opener, nobody even knows where he’ll line up to try and prove it.