AVT to Right Guard, Tomlinson on the Left

Robert Saleh Spoke to the media today at the league meetings. One interesting note that came out is 2nd-year offensive lineman AVT will be moving to the right side of the line, after spending his rookie year at left guard. Saleh told the media that, “Right now, the plan is Tomlinson at left guard and move AVT (Alijah Vera-Tucker) to right”.

On the decision to move AVT to right guard…
Laken has been in the league a long time, playing left guard for a very long time. AVT has shown flexibility in college, he played tackle, he played guard. He’s got tremendous flexibility and he’s still a young pup. There’s a lot of things that he can learn. I really think the dynamic of our offensive line will work really well with those, especially with that interior. We got a really good one.

On keeping Laken Tomlinson at left guard…
Either way, Laken, like I said, he’s shown, he’s had a lot of success at left guard in this league as a Pro Bowler last year and it’s something that we just don’t want to mess with for him. AVT will be fine. There are still things that he’s still learning. Him doing on the right side, he’s very, very athletic. He’ll be able to pick it up very quick.

Head Coach Saleh On his relationship with Laken Tomlinson…
There’s a saying that you want guys who can help you plant the flag in terms of the messaging and all that stuff. My relationship with Laken was just the level of respect for the way he played, his tenacity on gameday, that nastiness that he’d bring in between the whites when kickoff would start. The competitive nature that he brings, his mental toughness, his book smarts, all of it. So, bringing him and D.J. Reed and guys who know us and who think like us, even though I don’t know Whitehead, it’s the same thing, Conklin and C.J., really, really good group of guys that all match that same character of what we’re trying to bring into our locker room.