The Philadelphia Eagles made offensive lineman Cam Jurgens a second-round pick during the 2022 NFL Draft to have him eventually become the replacement for center and franchise legend Jason Kelce.
Jurgens understands making the move from right guard won’t always be a delight considering who previously played center for the organization.
“There are going to be some really bad days, probably more bad days than good days at the start,” Jurgens recently acknowledged, as shared by Brooks Kubena of The Athletic. “And it’s just having the determination and perseverance, and, you know, be the same and have the same mindset going in and not listen to a lot of outside noise.”
Kelce didn’t just earn seven Pro Bowl and six First-Team All-Pro nods featuring at center for the Eagles from 2011 through his retirement at the end of the 2023-24 season. He was also an outspoken leader for a club that allegedly dealt with behind-the-scenes issues during its collapse across the final month and a half of the past campaign and that has been the subject of concerning rumors regarding the relationship between head coach Nick Sirianni and quarterback Jalen Hurts.
“He knows I have a lot of confidence in him to do the job and be the player he is,” Hurts said about Jurgens. “He stepped up for us in big moments. He played well for us last year. He’s been ready. He’s ready to lead that o-line room, and I know those guys are going to lean on him.”
Hurts reportedly has already shown improvement in multiple aspects of his game while working with new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, who replaced Brian Johnson this past winter. According to Kubena, everyone on Philadelphia’s offensive line will be tasked with “calling out checks for blitz protections” in Moore’s offensive scheme meant to get Hurts back to where he was when he emerged as a regular-season Most Valuable Player Award finalist for the 2022 campaign.
“I’m learning so much this year and obviously I can tell (Hurts is) learning a lot too,” Jurgens added. “And I think as we both grow and get a little more fluent in the offense, it’s going to be a lot easier to communicate and talk between the two of us. And it’s been good so far.”
In order for the Eagles to fully close the book on all that went wrong for them leading up to their wild-card playoff loss at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this past January, Jurgens, Hurts and the rest of the Philadelphia offense will need things to be better than “good” beginning with their Week 1 game versus the Green Bay Packers in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Sept. 6.
