The Philadelphia Eagles‘ almost unstoppable offensive line of the 2024 season took a hit when starting right guard, Mekhi Becton left for the Los Angeles Chargers in free agency, signing a 2 year, $20 million deal with the West Coasters.
In his stead, 2023 third round pick, Tyler Steen has emerged as the favorite to fill the position on the interior. However, Steen’s up and down play in 2024 – and general lack of starting experience – makes him liable to lose the spot if his play is not up to scratch during August’s training camp.
The chief competition to Steen will be former first round lineman, Kenyon Green, who was acquired from the Texans this past offseason. But the Eagles also made sure to add multiple younger reinforcements on the offensive line during this year’s draft, with Drew Kendall, Myles Hinton and Cameron Williams all drafted on day three to beef up the unit.
However, the Eagles are seemingly not content with those additions to protect now-Super Bowl winning quarterback, Jalen Hurts, as they recently signed former Clemson guard, Marcus Tate.
Weâve signed OL Marcus Tate. pic.twitter.com/YbEbGVkT0L
â Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) June 2, 2025
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Chris McPherson, from the Eagles’ official website, broke down the signing.
“[Marcus] Tate (6-5, 321 pounds) participated in the Eagles’ Rookie Camp earlier this spring.” McPherson wrote on Monday, “Tate played 2,502 snaps over 42 games (37 starts) during his Tigers career. He became just the third true freshman offensive lineman in Clemson history to start a season opener in 2021.”
“A 2024 second-team All-ACC selection, Tate finished at Clemson as one of 28 players in school history to play more than 2,500 career snaps from scrimmage. The majority of his snaps came at left guard, with some experience at both left and right tackle as well. At Clemson, Tate was a part of three 10-win teams and two ACC Championship squads. The 2024 Tigers reached the College Football Playoffs.”
What Impact Could Tate Have In 2025?
The answer is most likely – not much.
Most franchises hold between 8 and 11 offensive lineman on their 53 man roster, and the Eagles currently have three experienced free agent acquisitions; Kendall Lamm, Matt Pryor and Green – fighting with the trio of late round picks. Combined with behemoth UDFA, Hollin Pierce, who also may have an outside shot of making the roster, Tate certainly has a hill to climb.
Most likely, Tate will end up on the practice squad if he shows some promise, with the potential to contribute on special teams or as a backup later on in the year if injuries start to hit Philadelphia at the heart of the offensive line.
However, it would not be the first time we have seen an undrafted player make a final roster unexpectedly.
In fact, last August we saw a whopping 45 undrafted free agents make the final 53 man rosters across the NFL.
UDFAs that made initial 53s:
⢠S Tyler Owens & TE Colson Yankoff (WSH)
⢠TE Dallin Holker, CB Rico Payton, WR Mason Tipton & P Matthew Hayball (NO)
⢠RB Blake Watson & OL Frank Crum (DEN)
⢠DB Beanie Bishop Jr (PIT)
⢠LB Joe Andreessen (BUF)
⢠DLs Eric Watts, Leonardâ¦â Ryan Fowler (@_RyanFowler_) August 27, 2024
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The odds are against him to have a shot at being on the roster come the start of the regular season, but it is certainly far from impossible.
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