"Oren is my guy so I reached out to him," Blasingame said. "He said good locker room, good dudes. Just an opportunity to come here and help a really good team win."
Blasingame is starting on the practice squad, but it seems the plan might be for him to somewhat replicate VanSumeren’s role as both a fullback and a special teams contributor.
"I don’t know if I should say that. Everybody has different rules with the media," Blasingame said. "Just get up to speed as much as possible with offense and special teams. Ready for whenever they call my number."
Sirianni was certainly hinting at that number being called.
"It’s been pretty productive for us this year," Sirianni said of the fullback position. "I haven't been on a team that we've utilized the fullback in quite some time. Sometimes you go into it and you're like, do we need a fullback? And you say, eh. Then you get into it, and you start doing it, and you're like, ‘man, okay, this has been a good benefit for us.’ And you build on that.
"So [because of] the confidence that you get because things are being successful, you look to put a little bit more in. That's how we are with players. That's how we are with plays. That's how we are with personnel groupings. Oh, this is good. Let's add a little bit more. Oh, let's add a little bit more, let’s add a little bit more.
"So, yeah, we're excited about that. We'll continue to use it as we need to.”
Blasingame has the chance to be that little bit more.
It's been a while since the Eagles have had an actual fullback.
This season, they experienced it with hybrid player Ben VanSumeren and intended to expand his role until he suffered a season-ending knee injury during last Friday’s practice.
VanSumeren had surgery in Los Angeles earlier this week and is expected to be out for six months during rehabilitation.
Rather than abandoning the position without BVS, the Eagles went outside the organization to sign Khari Blasingame, a veteran who has played 66 NFL games and started 21 as a fullback for Tennessee and Chicago.
"I think what it's done is give another layer for the defense to have to pay attention to," Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said when asked about using a fullback. "I'm not going to get into the scheme of it, why it's been helpful for us, but one of the benefits is the layer that it gives the defense to have to defend, and have to spend time on, and have to study."
Blasingame, 28, stands 6-foot and weighs 233 pounds. He trained under Minnesota veteran C.J. Ham, a key figure in a position that has become rare. Although he couldn't replace Ham with the Vikings, he established his own role with the Titans, where he was a teammate of A.J. Brown, and later with the Bears.
At Wednesday's practice, things were easier for Blasingame with Brown present.
"We caught up just like old times," the newest Eagles player said.
Another familiar face welcomed Blasingame when he arrived in Philadelphia, former college teammate at Vanderbilt, linebacker Oren Burks.
New Eagles fullback former Bear, Titan and Chief Khari Blasingame.
Peter van den Berg-Imagn Images
Eagles are now a "Fullback" team with Blasingame signing
December 6, 2024
The position seems to be going extinct but the Eagles are now a team that seems to have rediscovered its value.
Philly Sports Jawn
Jawn Madden
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