Former Eagles offensive lineman Sua Opeta suffered a torn ACL at practice with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this week, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.
Opeta, 27, had been battling Ben Bredeson for the starting left guard position with Tampa. The two were rotating first-team reps, according to Bucs beat writer Jenna Laine of ESPN.
Opeta played in 13 games for the Eagles last season, starting six — one at LG and five at RG. He played a career-high 527 snaps (46% of the Eagles’ offensive total.)
Originally an undrafted free agent out of Weber State in 2019, Opeta was a part of the Eagles’ organization for parts of five seasons, playing in a total of 38 games with 10 starts.
At one point early in his career Miami tried to sign Opeta off the Eagles’ practice squad and Philadelphia elevated him to the 53-man roster.
At 6-foot-4 and 305 pounds he was a part of the somewhat-famous strength program at Weber State and did 39 reps at 225 pounds at the 2019 NFL combine, the most among any offensive lineman who participated that year.
Opeta signed a one-year, $1.125 million contract with Tampa Bay in March as a free agent with a $250K signing bonus and $650K in total guarantees.
