Under-Radar Part Of Eagles Training Camp: Center And Quarterback Getting On Same Page

Cam Jurgens reminded some of Jason Kelce while leading the way on running plays, but how are he and quarterback Jalen Hurts doing in getting on the page with protection calls?

Cam Jurgens meets with reporters after Day 2 of Eagles training camp practice. / Ed Kracz/Eagles on SI

PHILADELPHIA – If you didn’t know Jason Kelce had retired, you probably would have sworn that he had unretired during the Eagles’ training camp practice on Thursday.

But it wasn’t him escorting Saquon Barkley around the edge on one 11-on-11 play. It wasn’t him leading Jalen Hurts through the second level of the defense on a designed run on another.

It was Cam Jurgens, Kelce’s hand-picked successor two years ago when he studied his film and said to general manager Howie Roseman and his staff, yeah, he’s the one. Jurgens reminded Kelce of himself, at least some of the traits that Jurgens possessed. So, Roseman picked him in the second round.

Now, after playing out of position last year at right guard, his moment has arrived.

“I feel a lot more comfortable being back (at center),” said Jurgens. “The nice thing about being at guard last year is I wasn’t going up there just worrying about my blocking assignment. I was still thinking like I was a center and what protections, what calls we were going to make, and still going through my normal routine because it was so ingrained in me.

“It's kind of all I had done. So, that aspect of it hasn’t changes as much. It’s a little bit like riding a bike except we’re blocking 300-pound dudes, 350-pound dudes, who knows?”

Jurgens has a long way to be compared to Kelce, and he may never earn that honor. That doesn’t mean he can’t help the Eagles win games, and maybe a Super Bowl like Kelce did. Nor does it mean that the Eagles’ vaunted offensive line will take a step backward.

It is the offensive line that helped convince Barkley to sign here after the New York Giants set him free after six seasons.

The Eagles' offensive line is a big reason why Saquon Barkley wanted to play for Philly. / Ed Kracz/Eagles on SI

“That’s the reason why I wanted to come here,” he said. “The offensive line, history shows they’ve been really good and I think it’ll help me show my true potential. That’s not to disrespect or diss anybody in the past, but that’s a reason I wanted to come here. I had a run where it just felt natural. It felt like we’ve been doing this for a long time.”

Jurgens has played center for a long time, including all four years at Nebraska, but this will be his first time doing it full-time with the Eagles.

Being athletic is one thing, but figuring out protection and blocking calls is another. It won’t all be on Jurgens. Hurts will play a big role, so it will be important for the QB and center to be on the same page. It’s probably an underrated part of training camp.

“Over the years, it’s been something that I’ve wanted to do,” said Hurts. “But I feel like when you have Jason Kelce, it’s just like let him do it. So, I never really had the opportunity to do those things. But I think that opportunity has come.

“I think it’s a collaborative thing with myself and Cam, and we just have to build our relationship. He knows I have a lot of confidence in him to do the job and be the player that he is.”

Jurgens said it won’t just be him and Hurts making the calls. It will be a group effort, something that will also be somewhat new because Kelce had been there, done that so often, that he didn’t need much help to identify what a defense was delivering from play to play.

“I’m learning so much this year and I can tell (Hurts) is learning a lot, too,” said Jurgens. “I think as we both grow and get a little more fluid in the offense it’s going to be a lot easier to communicate and talk between the two of us.

“It’s been good so far. It’s fun getting to see how defenses evolve every year. Even how ours is. And how we can talk and work through that in camp.”

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