The Philadelphia Eagles will head into the 2024 season with a new center for the first time in over a decade.
Upon his retirement, longtime center Jason Kelce, an all but certain future Hall of Famer, left Eagles offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland with one of the most important jobs he’s had in his tenure in Philadelphia: helping train up whoever will fill the shoes of the franchise’s star center.
According to former Eagles lineman Brian Baldinger, the loss of Kelce is not just a hole in the offensive line that can be plugged and replaced. In Kelce, the Philadelphia offense is losing a lot more than a lineman.
“Every adjustment that has probably ever been made since 2011 or ’12 on the sideline, during a game, in real-time, he’s been a part of it,” Baldinger said of Kelce while appearing as a guest on the “Green Light” podcast with fellow former Eagle Chris Long.
“He’s been a part of every adjustment during the game. You can see him talking to Stoutland all of the time. During the week, I’m sure there’s a good chunk of every Thursday, where him and Jalen Hurts and the quarterbacks are sitting down and going through the blitz reel. The looks and what’s coming.”
But it’s not just Kelce’s mind that the Eagles will struggle to replace this fall.
“The thing that everybody is going to miss, is you could put Dexter Lawrence on top of him, and he’s putting him on his back in the run game,” Baldinger said. “His strength is still his strength.”
Brian Baldinger on the impact of losing Jason Kelce for this Eagles O-Line pic.twitter.com/VTrjNsphzi
— Green Light with Chris Long (@greenlight) May 14, 2024
As things stand, it feels likely that Cam Jurgens, who played center while in college at Nebraska and has played guard alongside Kelce since being drafted in 2022, will take on the role.
Center isn’t often considered a flashy position in the NFL, but it’s safe to say that Eagles fans will be watching closely as the team looks to replace one of the pillars of the franchise.
