After Losing Their Center, Could Saints Trade for Jason Kelce?

The New Orleans Saints now have a need at center. And the Eagles just so happen to have a few extra centers laying around.

On Monday morning, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported that Saints starting center Max Unger suffered a foot injury and is likely to start the 2017 season on the PUP. 

That's a big loss for a team whose success probably hinges around protecting its 38-year-old star quarterback. If Unger is on the PUP, he'll be out for at least six weeks. 

So maybe it's time for Howie Roseman to sit by the phone. Because if there's one team in the league with exceptional depth on the interior of its offensive line, it's the Eagles. 

Jason Kelce, coming off a Pro Bowl season, is still on the roster and will be the starter if he's back. But the team also re-signed Steven Wisniewski to a three-year deal this offseason and Isaac Seumalo, last year's third-round pick, returns for his second season. Those are three viable options for a starting center. 

And Kelce, 29, has been the focal point of plenty of trade reports this offseason. Trading him would save $3.8 million in cap space. 

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After the conclusion of the 2017 draft, Roseman was asked about Kelce and Mychal Kendricks, two players who seem the most likely to be dealt. 

"Yes, they are here, and we fully anticipate that they're going to be here going forward," Roseman said. 

But things can change as we've seen in the past. Just last year, the Eagles planned on starting Sam Bradford at quarterback until Teddy Bridgewater went down in Minnesota. Then, they were opportunistic and traded him to the Vikings. 

It seems possible the same thing could happen here. 

Now, what could Kelce bring back to the Eagles? The obvious answer and one plenty of fans have likely already put together is Mark Ingram. 

The 27-year-old running back was a first-round pick in 2011 and is coming off his first-career 1,000-yard season in 2016. But he seems expendable after the Saints signed Adrian Peterson and drafted Alvin Kamara in the third round of the draft. 

Ingram is just the type of hard-nosed runner the Eagles seem to lack right now. They could really use him to fill out a running back room that includes Wendell Smallwood, Darren Sproles and Donnel Pumphrey. 

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