Barbre's departure a positive sign for fifth-year vet Tobin

The Eagles held their first full-team workout of training camp Thursday, which means Matt Tobin had to prove himself.

The 27-year-old offensive lineman is used to it. It has been that way since the Eagles signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2013. It has been that way even longer, since he made the University of Iowa football team as a freshman walk-on.

Tobin knows how this goes: "Give 'er all I got, and hopefully something good happens."

Of the 14 players who joined the Eagles in 2013 or earlier, Tobin might face the greatest chance of being cut. Most of the team's veterans can rest easy. Tobin is fighting for his job, though he has put himself in a good position.

His chances improved a bit last week when the Eagles traded veteran offensive lineman Allen Barbre to the Denver Broncos for a conditional draft pick. Barbre, 33, is a similar player to Tobin. He was heading into his fifth year with the Eagles and provided depth at guard or tackle, but he started 28 games for the Eagles in the last two years. That the team decided it didn't need another experienced, versatile lineman is a good sign for Tobin.

"They wouldn't have gotten rid of a good player like that if they didn't have confidence in myself and some other younger guys," Tobin said.

Eagles coach Doug Pederson mentioned a couple of those younger players, tackles Dillon Gordon and Halapoulivaati Vaitai, as two who have an opportunity. A guideline for surviving training camp that Tobin has learned through experience: Don't look around at the other guys.

Instead, he built up trust by starting 20 games in his first three years with the Eagles, stepping in for injured offensive linemen. He had to build some again last year under the new staff, and he hopes he's better for it.

The other difficulty of Tobin's job is his unsettled position. Twenty of his 21 career starts have come at guard, and 15 at right guard, but the Eagles use him everywhere. Before veteran Jason Peters stepped in at left tackle during practice Thursday, Tobin even played a few reps there during a run-through.

"You got a guy that's literally, in practice, jumping all over the place, it's hard to get into a rhythm, it's hard to get into that," center Jason Kelce said. "You might not think that it makes that big of a difference, but really, in the grand scheme of things, I think it does."

But Tobin's versatility could also keep him around as he does a job that even as a backup is important in the NFL. Kelce compared him to former Eagles offensive lineman Dennis Kelly. The Eagles drafted Kelly in the fifth round in 2012, and he started 15 games in his first four years before the team traded him to the Tennessee Titans for recently released Dorial Green-Beckham, who's still a free agent.

Meanwhile, Kelly showed the Titans that he could play multiple positions. Last week, the Titans signed him to a two-year contract extension to fill a similar role to Tobin's.

"I think Matt has been underrated here for a while," Kelce said. "Just a very reliable guy, in my mind. You know exactly what you're getting."

And Tobin knows exactly what he's getting: another chance. He played his way onto the team at Iowa, paid his own way for three years and then became a primary starter for his last two. Asked about his status as he begins another camp for the Eagles, his answer could fit in any year.

"I don't know," he said. "We're just going to have to play it out and do as best I can, and whatever happens, happens."