Eagles' Dunlap making his case at right tackle

The Eagles' right-tackle situation remains as jumbled as it was at the start of training camp, but a former seventh-round draft pick could be the Week 1 starter if he maintains his standing with the first team.

With Winston Justice still on the shelf, Ryan Harris back but no longer the starter, and a handful of other contenders - including the recently acquired Reggie Wells - off to the side, King Dunlap has tightened his grip at right tackle.

Dunlap started in Thursday night's preseason game against Pittsburgh and apparently did well enough to stay atop the depth chart even though Harris returned to practice Saturday after a weeklong bout with back spasms.

"King played very well in this game," Eagles coach Andy Reid said. "I think he's worked himself into football shape, and we're kind of getting what we expected earlier."

Reid, of course, said he would "continue the competition" at right tackle. At last count there were at least six candidates and maybe one break-glass-in-case-of-emergency option. Wells was the latest to be thrown into the stew after, apparently, the testing of Justice's knee did not go as planned.

Justice, who underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in February, started most of 2009-10. He has yet to practice in training camp but worked out with Eagles trainers Friday at the NovaCare Complex.

"He's still got a little bit of pain on the outside of his knee," Reid said. "He was doing things with heavy weights and he's getting his strength back in his leg there, and a little more trust in his knee. He's got a little bit to go here."

Wells, first acquired just before last season's opener to provide depth at guard, was re-signed to a one-year contract on Saturday. Last year, he played very little, but with 12 of his 91 career starts coming at tackle, the Eagles want to see whether the 30-year-old has something left in the tank.

"I'd really like to see him take some snaps at the right-tackle spot and continue the competition there," Reid said.

Wells said he last played tackle early in the 2008 season. He took the red-eye from Arizona and landed in Philadelphia on Saturday at 6 a.m. He was practicing with the Eagles a few hours later.

He was asked whether he thought the coaching change at offensive line this off-season - Howard Mudd took over after Juan Castillo moved to defensive coordinator - would give him a better chance in his second go-around with the Eagles.

"That remains to be seen," Wells said. "I came in last year - late, or whatever you want to call it - and this year I'm not exactly early."

If or when Wells gets repetitions with the first team, he will be the sixth lineman to do so since the start of camp. Dunlap, Austin Howard, and Fenuki Tupou were used there until Harris was signed as a free agent and shortly after that took the job.

But Harris' back flared up in the preseason opener against Baltimore and in went Dunlap, as did Evan Mathis, who has taken a few snaps with the starters. So the position, of obvious importance as the protector of quarterback Michael Vick's blind side, has been in a state of flux.

"Ultimately, at some point I think we'll find the guy," Vick said. "We just have to have confidence in the guys who are going to be out there and trust and believe in them. It's not a big concern."

Left guard Todd Herremans has played tackle in a pinch, and he could be an emergency replacement if Dunlap or the others don't work out.

"I know Winston's getting healthy, but it's time for me to go out there and show what I can do," Dunlap said. "Juan always told me I was going to get a chance, and here it is, even though he's coaching defense."

Some figured that the 6-foot-9, 330-pound Dunlap would not be a fit on Mudd's line since the coach usually prefers smaller, more athletic linemen.

"I'm still here," Dunlap said, "so I must be doing something right."