Chip Kelly has been at it yet again, this time extending the contracts of Andrew Gardner and Offensive Lineman Dennis Kelly.
The deals are huge for the Eagles, especially the Gardner extension which sees the guard tied to the team for 3 years in a deal worth $4.7m with a $500k signing bonus. This year especially, the Offensive Line needs to be more productive than ever and securing someone as dominant as Gardner for three year so cheap is an absolute bargain. The 29 year old was thrust into the front lines for the final eight games of last season and made the role his own.
However in Pre-Season, John Moffitt, Matt Tobin and Julian Vandervelde were all after his position. But as training camp and pre-season rolled on, it was clear who the Eagles favoured as Gardner began to take the majority of first team reps. According to Pro Football Focus, Gardner ranked 34th amongst the 78 guards in the NFL. Todd Herremans ranked as low as 57th in the same list.
Dennis Kelly however has reportedly signed a one-year extension with the Eagles, keeping him at the team through 2016. The fifth-round pick in 2012 is expected to be key in backing up the Guard and Tackle positions. In his time with the Eagles he has appeared in 16 regular season games and started in 3 of them.
