The Eagles starting center talked about stepping up as a leader in the OL room and gave an update on his back injury from last season.
The Eagles locked in their starting center for the next four years, signing Cam Jurgens to contract extension just days before the NFL Draft. Jurgens spoke to reporters about what it means to him to commit to playing in Philly for the long term and how he’s eager to step into more of a leadership role in the offensive line room.
“It feels kinda surreal. I feel like I’ve been playing for as long as I can remember, and getting to a point like this, I mean, this is life-changing.”
Jurgens went on to say that he had been working for this since he got drafted, and acknowledged that he feels lucky to have been drafted by Philly. This deal gives him confidence that he’ll be with the Eagles for a long time.
“The Eagles love me, and I love the Eagles. Why wait another year when we can get this done. I think it’s just as simple as that. I love it here and I want to stay here, and they want me to stay here, so I’m just glad we got it inked.”
Still, he doesn’t want to look too far in the future, and while it gives him security in his position, he’s only focused on 2025 and what that’s going to look like.
On his back surgery
Jurgens admitted it was tough to play through his injury in the playoffs, but he’s feeling a lot better since having surgery following the Super Bowl and is still working through the rehab process.
“Honestly, I feel like a new man. I feel so much better — going through the playoffs and dealing with that pain, I’m sure a lot of people have dealt with that before, and it’s not fun. But, when you’re going through the playoffs, I’m not really concerned about me. I’m concerned about what I can do to help the team and do everything I can, and to win. When you’re playing for a Super Bowl, that’s gonna last forever.”
The center looks forward to being 100 percent recovered, and he’s not concerned about how it might affect him move forward. Ultimately, he feels so much better than he did, and he’s confident in the recovery process.
On the continuity of the OL
With Jurgens now signed through 2029, Jordan Mailata and Landon Dickerson signed through 2028, and Lane Johnson in Philly until 2027, the center talked a bit about how important it is for that group to be together for so long.
“I think we can get so much better together.
Since I got here, I feel like the culture was so present right away when I got here — seeing [Jason] Kelce, Lane [Johnson], [Jordan] Mailata, Isaac [Seumalo], and just watching them guys work, you could tell there’s immediate culture in that o-line room and how they operated. Everything is full speed. Everything’s 100 percent, and there’s a standard there. I’m just so blessed to be here and be apart of that, and now I get that contract extension and I get to be apart of one of the leaders in that room.”
Jurgens went on to say that he’s embracing his opportunity now to be one of the older guys in the room, and be a resource to the next group of rookies and young players that come in.
Other notables
- Jurgens said that he doesn’t really have an opinion about the league potentially banning the tush push, noting that he’s just a player and will do what he’s told. He did say that it’s a play they run well and it would be a shame if they had to stop, but he’s not the one in charge of making those decisions.
- He was asked about how the questions he’s facing this year are different than last year — notably people have moved on from how he will fill in for Jason Kelce and are more focused on the work Jurgens put in and the production he had.
“I can’t worry about outsider’s perspective or what people are thinking about me, I just gotta worry about what I can control and what I can do to make my o-line coach Jeff Stoutland happy. I’m worried about him not getting on me, and that’s just what I gotta worry about.”
- As for what he might make buy to celebrate his big new deal, Jurgens noted that flies a lot and might look into TSA pre-check.