Reid had his contingency plan in place in case he lost another offensive lineman.
"I went over to the defensive linemen and talked with those guys," Reid said after the Eagles' 24-23 victory. "We were going to go with one of them, and I said, 'Let's start with the oldest and the heaviest.' "
Jenkins is in his ninth season and weighs 305 pounds, which fits in the 300-plus average of the offensive line.
Defensive end Darryl Tapp, who is in his seventh season and checks in at 270, was the other candidate.
"I was looking at coach Reid and I realized, he's not joking here," said Jenkins, who could not remember playing on the offensive line in his entire career. "He told me and Tapp, 'You are the two older guys, and if somebody goes down, we're coming to you.'
"I was like, 'OKeee.' I had just been talking trash to the [Ravens'] defensive line, and then this came up, so there was some serious apologizing going on out there. But I would have had to step up and play."
Fortunately for the Eagles, no other offensive linemen were injured, but there was intrigue there for a while.
"Stick Cullen out there," said quarterback Michael Vick, who would have had the most on the line, "He's got the size to do it
Eagles defensive coordinator Juan Castillo, who spent most of his career as an offensive line coach, smiled and responded, "I don't know who I'd pick, but I know that any of my guys would've gone in there and did a hell of a job. How's that for a political answer."
Defensive end Trent Cole, who logged one of the Eagles' two sacks, had a different idea than anyone else.
"I would have told coach Reid to put me in there," said Cole, who weighs 270. "I just love playing football."
Contact John Smallwood at smallwj@phillynews.com.
