Cam Jurgens Extension Latest Example Of What Sets Eagles Apart From Others

The signing of Cam Jurgens just days before the NFL Draft is why the Eagles traded C.J. Gardner-Johnson and let several players exit in free agency – to sign young players they drafted in previous years.

Jurgens got what every player wants when drafted – a second contract. The Eagles rewarded their Pro Bowl center with a four-year, $68 million extension that includes $39.4M guaranteed. It’s a deal that will keep him snapping footballs in Philly through 2029 and one that makes him the second-highest-paid center in the league, behind the Chiefs’ Creed Humphrey.

The real beauty of the deal isn’t the deal itself but how Jurgens landed in Philadelphia in the first place.

General manager Howie Roseman got input from Jason Kelce leading to the 2022 NFL Draft. Not many organizations - if any - get input from a player in evaluating their successors. Roseman was wise enough to understand that nobody knows the position better than the player playing that position, a future Pro Football Hall of Famer and a player the GM regards highly and respects immensely.

Kelce loved what he saw in Jurgens, saying he saw many of the same traits in Jurgens that he saw in himself. Roseman listened. Who cares if Kelce was still two years away from retiring? This is how the Eagles stay good. They design a plan that doesn’t always have to be enacted on Day 1.

So, Jurgens sat most of his rookie season. He learned from Kelce and offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland.

In his second season, he finally became a starter. But not at the position he played at Nebraska. It was at right guard, a position that was foreign to him. Jurgens used his athleticism to play the position well enough that the Eagles ended up in the Super Bowl that year.

Finally, when Kelce retired following that 2023 season, Jurgens was ready. It could have overwhelmed anyone, let alone a 25-year-old, to fill the kind of shoes Kelce left behind. It didn’t.

Jurgens played exceptionally well, earning a Pro Bowl nod and leading the team to the Super Bowl, part of an offensive line that broke down the door to a feat not seen often in the NFL – a 2,000-yard rusher.

It was more than just his blocking skills, but his ability to set protections against defensive fronts schemed to confuse. It was that seamless transition between he and quarterback Jalen Hurts that made it all work.

Not many organizations are willing or able to hatch these sorts of succession plans. The Eagles do it often.

Look at left tackle. They knew Jason Peters was nearing the end back late last decade, so they drafted Jordan Mailata in 2018 and turned around and took Andre Dillard the following year. Dillard didn’t work out. Mailata sure did.

They knew the end was near for Fletcher Cox, so they drafted Jordan Davis in 2022 and Jalen Carter in 2023. They also knew Brandon Graham was closing in on retirement, so they selected Nolan Smith in the same draft as Carter then took Jalyx Hunt in the third round last year.

“I think that one of the best tools that we have as coaches is the tape, right?” said head coach Nick Sirianni. “A lot of us are visual learners. We're able to evaluate the tape and whether it's in practice, whether it's in the draft, whatever it is, and say, here's what you did right? Here's what you did wrong and it's right there on the tape. That's a tool that every coach uses.

“Well, the next step of that is being able to dive into what that player is thinking. So sometimes that, hey, what this player was thinking on this play was this, this is what we taught him on this play. But to have the guy in there … to watch that tape to show the standard of what something looks like and say hey, ‘this is exactly the way we want this play to look like here, watch BG right here’ (is invaluable).”

Now, the Eagles could draft right tackle Lane Johnson’s eventual replacement in this week’s draft. Johnson said Roseman is already seeking his opinion on various prospects, similar to what Roseman did with Kelce.

This is solid planning and another reason for what sets the Eagles apart from most NFL organizations.

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