Cam Jurgens Worried About Filling Jason Kelce’s Closet, Not His Shoes originally appeared in NBC Sports Philadelphia
Despite the overflowing clutter that took 13 seasons to accumulate, Jason Kelce’s old closet was finally cleaned out earlier this offseason.
A new tenant had to move out.
“I don’t know how many trucks it took,” Cam Jurgens joked.
The back right corner of the Eagles locker room at the NovaCare Complex is symbolic. With just five spaces past the player lounge door, the Eagles position their starting five offensive linemen in order from left tackle to right tackle. After Kelce retired this offseason, the Eagles moved Jurgens one spot to his left.
And that will take some getting used to.
“It’s a little weird,” Jurgens said Wednesday, just days after the Eagles reported the start of their voluntary offseason program.
“Kelce is gone and they moved my locker into his, so obviously that’s a little weird. I went to the wrong locker a few times and thought, ‘Man, that’s not mine anymore.’ Getting used to things. But it’s fun to come back here and get back into the swing of things.”
Jurgens has finally moved into Kelce’s closet, but he’s not trying to take the place.
Even with a two-year runway, it’s probably a little scary for Jurgens as he prepares to replace a future Hall of Famer and one of the best players in franchise history, who also happens to be one of the most beloved players in franchise history. . .
It could be a burden, but Jurgens doesn’t see it that way.
“At the end of the day, just be myself,” Jurgens said. “I’m not trying to be someone’s replacement or someone’s next person. I’m just trying to be myself. I’m trying to be the best football player I can be and whatever position they put me in, that’s what I’m going to do.
“I’m not worried about anything other than what I can control and I think that’s all I have to worry about at the end of the day. I think when you start to put it in these perspectives and terms and people like to compare, you just put different things on your shoulders that you have to carry. And really, what can I do today? What can I do to learn? What can I do to improve and how can I be the best football player I can be? And no how can I be what he was? What will we do tomorrow? This is how I should look at things.”
The Eagles drafted Jurgens with the 51st overall pick in the 2022 draft out of Nebraska, knowing this day was an eventuality. They didn’t know exactly when but Kelce would retire and after some “fudging,” as Jalen Hurts called it, Kelce finally left the game last month.
So now it’s Jurgens’ turn to take over as franchise center.
That’s why they recruited him.
After what essentially turned out to be a redshirt season as a rookie in 2022, Jurgens replaced Isaac Seumalo, who left as a free agent, at right guard for the 2023 season. Even playing out of his most natural position, the experience he gained in the first few 12 games of his NFL career was extremely valuable. And that puts him in a much better position to take over as the Eagles’ center.
“Definitely,” Jurgens said. “Being able to play guard this last year and being able to be on the field will help me more than anything. I think getting real reps, being on the field, being there for the guy. So if I go into that location, whoever the guard is next to me, I can help him because I was in that location. Getting experience. I’ve been lucky enough to be here for two years and every year you strive to improve a little. That’s what we’re hoping for this year.”
For now, Jurgens’ old locker is being occupied by 2023 third-round pick Tyler Steen, who is the primary starter at right guard, but we’ll see if next week’s draft changes the pecking order.
What is not really an issue, however, is Jurgens’ position. While there were some outside doubts about whether or not Jurgens would take over at center, it always seemed pretty obvious that he would. The Eagles used a second-round pick on Jurgens to eventually replace Kelce. And they were attracted to his unique athletic ability because of how similar his profile was to Kelce’s. And hell, they even let Kelce help search for his eventual replacement and Kelce really liked Jurgens.
While at Nebraska, Jurgens had typical center responsibilities as the guy who made calls up front. This will be another big part of his transition to playing the position in 2024 for the Eagles.
Over the past two years, Jurgens has been absorbing the knowledge of his predecessor. Kelce was the ideal player to learn from as both a backup and a linemate.
“It’s easy to follow someone like that and learn from that,” Jurgens said. “It’s going to be a little different without him this year.”
Now it’s time to see him take over.
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