The Eagles traded Cam Jurgens and a 2027 seventh-round pick to the Ravens on Wednesday for a 2027 fifth-rounder and a 2028 second-rounder. Jurgens is a two-time Pro Bowl center who has spent 2026 struggling at left guard, a position he had never played.
Philadelphia turned that into a second-round pick. That is a good day at the office.
Jurgens is 27, drafted No. 51 overall out of Nebraska in 2022, and in his fifth NFL season. He signed a four-year, $68 million extension last offseason, roughly $17 million a year, which made him the second-highest-paid center in football at the time. He is under contract through 2029.
Why Jurgens was at guard in the first place
He played 1,867 combined snaps at center across 2024 and 2025 and made the Pro Bowl in both seasons. Then Landon Dickerson went on injured reserve after Week 1, Drew Kendall took over at center, and Jurgens slid to left guard. He played three games there, against the Titans, Bears and Rams, and it did not go well.
Landon Dickerson said he felt bad for Jurgens moving to a position he had never played. PhillyVoice’s Jimmy Kempski called it “a high price for an underperforming player with significant injury concerns,” which is a reasonable read from the Baltimore side.
Jurgens is reportedly in concussion protocol, with a Ravens debut expected next week against Cleveland per Adam Schefter.
Baltimore had no choice
The Ravens are 3-1 and have lost their top three centers. Danny Pinter tore a patellar tendon in training camp. Jovaughn Gwyn hurt an ankle and Ethan Pocic hurt a knee, both in the Week 3 win over Dallas. Vega Ioane had been shifted from right guard to center to cover, and Andrew Vorhees started at right guard in Week 4.
When your emergency plan is already two players deep into itself, a 27-year-old two-time Pro Bowl center is worth a second-rounder two drafts from now. Baltimore is a contender. Picks in 2028 are abstract. A functioning interior line in October is not.
The timing on Philadelphia’s side is brutal
The trade came one day after right tackle Lane Johnson retired. The Eagles are 2-2 and play Jacksonville in London on Sunday. The projected line is Jordan Mailata at left tackle, Tyler Steen at right guard, Kendall at center with Willie Lampkin behind him, and rookie third-rounder Markel Bell at right tackle. Dickerson remains on injured reserve.
That is a lot of change in one week for a unit that is supposed to be the identity of the team.
Roseman is doing what Roseman does
Philadelphia identified a player whose value to the roster had collapsed and found a buyer whose need was urgent enough to overpay. Jurgens was not going to be a Pro Bowl guard. He was going to be an expensive guard with a concussion while a rookie played center in front of him.
Converting that into a 2028 second-rounder, while absorbing the cap hit, is the kind of move that gets described as ruthless when it works. Claims that Jurgens was on the verge of being benched, and that rival general managers are wary of dealing with Roseman, remain unconfirmed.
The Eagles will be worse on the offensive line this month. They will also have an extra second-round pick. Roseman has made that trade before and been right about it.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.