PHILADELPHIA – It’s time to put Cam Jurgens on injured reserve. It’s probably past that point, but now is the time. The center hasn’t been 100 percent healthy all season since having offseason back surgery. That hasn’t gone away, and now he has a knee injury on top of that.
“I’m just trying to get back to what I can,” said Jurgens last week about the possibility of going on injured reserve, before starting in the Eagles’ 16-9 win over the Lions on Sunday night. “That’s just how the NFL and football goes. Everybody is dealing with injuries throughout the year, and you just keep working, keep grinding, take it day by day.
“We had the bye week, so I didn’t know exactly know when I’d be back, or if I’d be back for this game. I’m just trying to get better every day and every week. We knew we had the bye week.”
There is no bye week before the Eagles play again in Dallas on Sunday, and Jurgens wasn’t at Wednesday’s practice.
So, shut him down now, hope to get him healthy over the next four weeks, and get him back for the final three regular season games and the playoffs. Those final three regular-season games are two against the Commanders, who, at 3-7, will likely be playing out the string, with a game in Buffalo against the Bills sandwiched between them.
Cam Jurgens
Nov 16, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles center Cam Jurgens (51) blocks Detroit Lions defensive tackle Roy Lopez (51) at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
Right tackle Lane Johnson wasn’t at Wednesday’s practice, either, but it’s a foregone conclusion that he will be put on IR this week with a Lisfranc sprain, though head coach Nick Sirianni still isn’t conceding what NFL Media and ESPN reported on Johnson earlier in the week.
Fred Johnson will take over for Lane Johnson just as the reserve did in the four games Jordan Mailata missed during his IR stint last year.
While there might be some short-term pain by putting two important pieces to your offensive line on the shelf, the long-term gain could be worth it, especially with Jurgens, who could spend the month rehabbing then, hopefully, returning to full health for another Super Bowl push.
Brett Toth has proven to be a capable backup. He’s made two starts already for Jurgens and had to step in twice at center when Jurgens left during the game. Against Detroit on Sunday, Toth played the final 11 offensive snaps in place of Jurgens.
Losing two pieces would make a dent in the O-line’s depth, but the Eagles have rookie Drew Kendall who can back up Toth. They could even activate Willie Lampkin, whose 21-day practice window to be eligible for a return to the roster opened on Nov. 6.
If you put Jurgens on IR, you could elevated Lampkin for better depth on the interior. Maybe he could even play a fullback role.
The Eagles also opened the practice window for tackle Myles Hinton on Wednesday, so if he is healthy enough, he could be in line for a call-up when Johnson gets placed on IR.
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