He was undrafted out of noted college football powerhouse Weber State. He was released by the Eagles after his rookie training camp and he's been cut four times in all. He never got on the field till the middle of his second season. He’s bounced around from the practice squad to the roster.
Talk about a longshot. Sua Opeta was the perfect Jeff Stoutland project.
Whether it’s late-round guys like 5th-round pick Halapoulivaati Vaitai, 6th-round pick Jason Kelce, 7th-round pick Jordan Mailata or undrafted guys like Fred Johnson, Nate Herbig or Opeta, Stoutland specializes in taking longshots and molding them into legit NFL players.
“We've played with a lot of guys up front over Stout's tenure here,” Kelce said Wednesday. “And I think everybody knows how great a coach Stout is, with the starters and the game plans and all that stuff. But one of the things that I think is very underrated about Stout … is that he really fully prepares everybody.
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“And I think a lot of that comes down to his college coaching background and having to develop guys and having to teach young guys how to play because he knows they're going to have to be starters in two, three years. You know, Sue has been here for a long time, very physically gifted, and he's come a long way. And really, any time he's been asked to answer the bell for us, he's gone and done a really good job.”
Opeta, now 27 and in his fifth year with the Eagles, will make his sixth career start Sunday – his first since 2021 – when the Eagles face the Rams at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif. Opeta replaces Cam Jurgens, who’s expected to miss multiple games with a foot injury he suffered against Washington on Sunday.
Opeta started two games at left guard in 2020 and two more in 2021 and started the 2021 playoff game in Tampa at right guard, his only previous start on the right side.
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“The first thing Stout told me my rookie year when I ran into him in the hallway before I did any meetings or anything with him is he told me just listen to the coaching and you'll be just fine,” Opeta said.
“I still remember it. I was just passing him by the stairs or something but he told me that and really that's all it's come down to. He sees people that he’s able to develop based off of certain characteristics and whatnot and he just buys in on those people and I feel like I'm one of those guys that he kind of bought in on. Undrafted, obviously. So just listening to the coaching it really helped me get to where I am.”
Although Opeta has only started five games in his career, Nick Sirianni said the Eagles have a ton of faith in him based on how he’s performed when he has gotten opportunities. Opeta played a little more than half the game Sunday against Washington and a pretty formidable defensive front and the Eagles moved the ball just as well with Opeta in the lineup – actually a little better.
When a backup has been here five years, it tells you he’s doing something right.
“He played an unbelievable game on Sunday,” Nick Sirianni said. “He didn't play as much last year, but … we won some big games with him in '21 on that field.
“We know he has great power. He really can do the things that we require of our guards to do. And so, we have a lot of faith in him based off his previous games that he's played, but you know, that faith really gets built year-in, year-out.”
It will certainly help Opeta that he’ll be playing between a future Hall of Famer in Kelce and a four-time Pro Bowler in Lane Johnson, two guys he’s been around for five years now.
“Sua, he's come a long way in his career here in Philadelphia,” Kelce said. “And he does some amazing things. And when he's on, he's a pretty unbelievable player.
“He's got all the traits. I think some guys perform on the field but they're kind of missing a few things. Teams are always kind of trying to move on from them. Sua is pretty much the opposite of that. He's got all the traits. He's very physically gifted, he's very strong, he's explosive, and he's really taken a lot of steps as far as being more consistent.
“I think that that's a thing that over the last two or three years it feels like a light bulb has clicked for him.”
The challenge Sunday is Aaron Donald, who will line up across from Opeta much of the time. He’s a future first-ballot Hall of Famer, one of only six defensive linemen in NFL history to make first-team All-Pro seven times.
“When you're getting in and you're playing well, your confidence just shoots up,” Opeta said. “So I mean, I'm really confident in my own ability to play. So it's cool that I get to go out there against Aaron Donald now and prove that.”
