The Eagles are signing veteran offensive lineman Matt Pryor to a one-year deal, a league source confirmed to NBC Sports Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Inquirer first reported the move.
Pryor, 30, was drafted by the Eagles in the sixth round of the 2018 draft out of TCU and spent the first two seasons of his career in Philadelphia before playing for the Colts, 49ers and Bears.
In his six seasons in the NFL, Pryor (6-7, 332) has played in 92 games and has started 39. He has experience playing both guard and tackle in the league.
In Chicago last season, Pryor played in all 17 games for the Bears and started a career-high 15. While Pryor did play some left guard and right tackle, most of his snaps (89%) for the Bears came at right guard. ProFootballFocus ranked Pryor as the 21st-best guard in the NFL last season, right behind Mekhi Becton at No. 20.
It’s worth noting that the only spot up for grabs on the Eagles’ offensive line is right guard after Becton left for the Chargers in free agency. The top incumbent candidate to take over at right guard is former third-round pick Tyler Steen but the Eagles this offseason also acquired former first-round guard Kenyon Green, who has struggled in his career.
So perhaps Pryor will compete for that starting right guard job. If nothing else, he might be able to bolster the Eagles’ depth after losing both Becton and Fred Johnson in free agency.
In August of 2021, the Eagles traded Pryor and a 2022 seventh-round pick to the Colts for a 2022 sixth-round pick. It was very unlikely that Pryor was going to make the Eagles’ roster in 2021 so they traded him instead. To Pryor’s credit, he has lasted in the league after that move.
During his two years in Philadelphia, Pryor played in 27 games and started 10 for the Eagles. All 10 of his starts came in that 2020 season, which was Doug Pederson’s final year at the helm. While Pryor has never played under Nick Sirianni — Pryor went to Indy after Sirianni left there in 2021 — he has played for longtime offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland.
Pryor was the Eagles’ sixth round pick in that impressive 2018 draft class, which will go down as one of Howie Roseman’s best. After trading out of the first round that season coming off the Super Bowl, Roseman drafted Dallas Goedert in the 2nd, Avonte Maddox and Josh Sweat in the 4th, Pryor in the 6th and Jordan Mailata in the 7th.
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