It is officially the week of the 2025 NFL Draft, and the Eagles started it off with a bang. They have reached an agreement with Pro-Bowl center Cam Jurgens on a 4-year contract extension. This is yet another move in Howie Roseman's master plan of extending the Eagles window. Also, we get some last-minute draft chatter and rumors from Adam Schefter regarding what the Birds might do on Thursday night. Today, RB discusses all of this and more!
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00The Philadelphia Eagles just made a move and it is way more significant than it may appear
00:05at surface level.
00:07We'll talk about what this means for the bird's future and how Howie Roseman continues to
00:11outsmart the rest of the NFL.
00:13Also, we get some last minute draft chatter from Adam Schefter and more.
00:17We'll get into all the latest buzz, but welcome into A to Z Philly.
00:20I'm RB.
00:21Do me a favor.
00:22Like this video.
00:23Go down below right now.
00:24Subscribe to our channel.
00:25We will have you covered all the way up and through the NFL draft this week.
00:30I am so pumped.
00:31It is finally here.
00:33Happy draft week to everybody that celebrates and all of us Eagle Nation get a huge bomb
00:39here on a Monday.
00:40That is right.
00:41According to Adam Schefter, breaking news, Pro Bowl center Cam Juergens and the Eagles have
00:46reached an agreement on a four year, $68 million contract extension.
00:51That includes $39.4 million in guarantees and contractually ties him throughout the
00:572029 season.
00:59That is right.
01:00The Eagles have locked up another offensive lineman.
01:04Obviously, they gave the extension to Lane Johnson, but Cam Juergens and what he was able
01:09to do and what he's been able to do over these first couple of years.
01:12Keep in mind, coming in, playing guard, shifting over to center, very versatile, dynamic.
01:17He just feels like an Eagles lifer right now.
01:19And honestly, I'm not going to say he's better than Jason Kelsey.
01:22Of course, I wouldn't do that.
01:23But just based on his talent in these first several years, he looks like he can be really
01:28good for a long time.
01:29So I'm happy they wrapped him up here.
01:31And Cam Juergens, you know, keep in mind what he did in the playoffs.
01:34I mean, that was heroic.
01:36Him and Dickerson kind of alternating there, especially in the NFC championship game.
01:40You know, that was impressive.
01:42And it showed what kind of not only player he was, but teammate person as well.
01:46So I am glad that he will stay here in midnight green.
01:50Now looking at the highest paid centers in the NFL, Cam Juergens at number two, right
01:54behind Creed Humphrey, who is making 18 a year.
01:57Cam Juergens now at 17 million per year.
02:00So big payday out of Cam Juergens.
02:03Now we just heard from Cam Juergens a little while ago.
02:06He spoke to the media on his new contract extension.
02:09He says, quote, regarding the back surgery.
02:11I feel like I'm a new man when you're going through the playoffs.
02:14I'm not concerned about me.
02:15I'm kind of concerned about what I can do to help the team and do everything I can to
02:19win.
02:20When you're playing for a Super Bowl, that is going to last forever.
02:23And there you go.
02:24Right.
02:24We just talked about the character of Cam Juergens, what kind of person he is.
02:29And he is all about the team.
02:30He is all about winning.
02:32He will do whatever it takes.
02:33He will sacrifice his body.
02:34He'll put it on the line.
02:36And he showed that in the NFC championship game, even coming back, I mean, what the other
02:41players were saying about Cam, what he was playing through, the fact that he even got
02:46that equipment and got back on the field is unbelievable in itself.
02:50And the fact that he played good through it all was even better.
02:53Also, Cam Juergens, based on his extension, says, quote, I'm on this team.
02:56I have security for the years ahead.
02:58I feel safe about that.
03:00I can just worry about today and getting better.
03:02And that's a true thing.
03:04You know, when these players go through these contract years and they're worrying about what
03:08their payday is going to look like, hey, I don't want to get hurt.
03:11I don't want to do this.
03:12Now they got the money, you know, now they can just focus on the craft and, you know,
03:17build on getting even better than they already were.
03:19So shout out to Cam Juergens.
03:20But ladies and gentlemen, right, we knew the Juergens extension was most likely coming here
03:25in year three.
03:26The question is, what does it mean for the birds, right?
03:29The whole story of this offseason, the whole takeaway has been, we're trying to optimize
03:36the window, right?
03:37And we're trying to extend the window.
03:40Howie Roseman has been trying to extend the window.
03:43And to do that, he has needed to let certain players go this offseason, right?
03:47A couple of vets that we all really like and guys that may be up for contracts next year
03:52or this year.
03:53So they've had to make some tough decisions, right?
03:55And they've had to let some names go, but why have they done that?
03:59It's been so you can extend all of these young, versatile, dynamic, talented players and make
04:04sure they all get their payday.
04:06The guys that you really want to build around for the next five to 10 years.
04:10And we keep going back to the year 2029, right?
04:13We said Juergens is now tied to the Eagles through 2029.
04:16I mean, ladies and gentlemen, when you start to really look at this team and you look at
04:21what they're building, I mean, they have the key core players locked down for the next
04:26several years.
04:27I mean, it is genius work by Howie Roseman.
04:30Cam Juergens now has a cap hit of 5.8 million for this year.
04:34And ESP here says he'd be surprised if that even changes much with the new contract.
04:38Eagles offensive line now has four key starters locked up long term in deals that make them
04:44anywhere from the highest paid to the six highest paid player at their positions.
04:47But what do we always say when it comes to locking up your free agents and your young
04:52studs?
04:52You have to be first in the market.
04:54And I think Howie Roseman has done a really good job with that, even with the receivers
04:57and AJ and Devante and Jalen.
05:00Like, it's all about being the first mover, right?
05:03It's all about setting the precedent because then the next guy is going to come and they're
05:07going to get paid more.
05:08And then the next guy is going to come around and they're going to get paid more.
05:11So at the end of the day, it's all about being first and being able to get these deals
05:16done, right?
05:16We saw that with the Jamar Chase thing last year.
05:19Like, look at how much Devante and AJ got paid.
05:21And then all these other guys started to come through after.
05:23That's because Howie Roseman set the bar and getting this done with Cam Juergens and locking
05:29up four guys on your offensive line, who, by the way, is the most dominant in the NFL,
05:34who helped Saquon Barkley achieve a record season in his first year with the franchise is just
05:40genius work.
05:41You look at my lot of sign through 2028 Landon signed through 2028 Juergens signed through
05:472029 and Lane Johnson signed through 2027.
05:50And Howie Roseman does a really good job of drafting in the trenches.
05:53So, you know, when these guys deals are up, the next guy is going to come in and they'll
05:57probably draft another guy from a big school who will be a stud.
06:00And then they'll go through that cycle as well.
06:02But it's just nice to know that they have these guys locked down and they make that the
06:06priority.
06:07And that has always been their philosophy.
06:09Now, here are the Eagles players locked up through 2028.
06:12Jalen, AJ, Devante, Saquon right after the extension.
06:16And the O-line, Zach Bourne, Nolan Smith, Jalen Carter, Quinion and Dejean will be next on
06:21the totem pole.
06:22So, again, you lose some of these big names, but this is how you have to build your team
06:27now.
06:27You can't get wrapped up in just one year or two years.
06:31Howie Roseman, I think, is willing to take a gamble that the Eagles will still be naturally
06:36as good this year with the talent that they have that won the Super Bowl.
06:39And he's willing to potentially, I'm not saying they will, but he's willing to potentially
06:43take a little minor step back this year if it means that they're going to be really good
06:48for the next four years.
06:50And I think that is a good decision.
06:51Now we have to talk about what Howie's going to do on Thursday night.
06:55Where do they go?
06:56Who do they draft?
06:57A lot of draft choices.
06:59And we got some more chatter from Adam Schefter.
07:01He dropped a little Intel piece on all of the NFL teams right now.
07:05And this is what he said about the Philadelphia Eagles this week.
07:08Quote, contrary to internet speculation, the Eagles are not trading AJ Brown.
07:12The star wide receiver signed a three-year extension a year ago this week.
07:16So I'm glad we could put this stupid rumor to bed.
07:20The Eagles are never trading AJ Brown.
07:22He's put up some of the best seasons in franchise history in his first three years with the team.
07:27He should be here for the rest of his career.
07:30That's how good he is.
07:31They're not trading him.
07:32They're not getting rid of him.
07:34So I just wanted to put that out there and I'm glad we could put that to bed.
07:36But the more important thing is that Adam Schefter says, speaking of trades,
07:40no team is in a better position to make them this week than the Eagles.
07:44They own 20 selections in the next two drafts, more than the actual number of players who can make their team.
07:50Therefore, they have added bargaining power should they try to trade for available veterans,
07:53a certain possibility during the draft, or if they decide in a less likely scenario that they want to move up.
08:01So what Adam Schefter is saying here is that the Philadelphia Eagles are less likely to move up in the first round than to just use a pick or use a couple picks and go get some veterans for this team.
08:12Now, am I completely mad at that?
08:14No.
08:15Like there are a handful of guys I think they could trade up for maybe four or five spots if they really are zoned in on a guy.
08:21They said they didn't have 32 first round grades.
08:23But if I'm thinking about safety where they don't have a starting safety right now or maybe tight end, right?
08:29Depending on what happens with Dallas Goddard or whatever else the case may be, I wouldn't be mad if they go out and get a veteran and bring them in, right?
08:37They did that with DeAndre Swift.
08:38They did that with A.J. Brown on draft night.
08:42They have done this before and they know how to get the right pieces and make it work.
08:46So if there's a position that they're targeting, maybe let's just say safety, for example, right?
08:50And then, you know, Starks goes off the board and they don't want to draft one in the fourth round and they go look around the league, scour some teams and, you know, pick up a guy that's not going to sign an extension.
09:00And they bring them in for cheap and let them start for this team who has more experience than a rookie.
09:05Am I mad at that?
09:05No.
09:06I mean, the Eagles have a lot of selections.
09:08Like Schefter said, they can't use all of those picks and they're still going to draft a lot of good young players and they have a lot of good young players.
09:15But you also need that veteran presence in the locker room, right?
09:18You lose a guy like C.J.
09:19Gardner Johnson.
09:20So maybe they go out and they find another safety and they make it happen.
09:23I would not be mad at that.
09:25But I do think it's interesting.
09:26He says it's less likely that they move up.
09:28Maybe he is kind of signaling here that they could trade back, which we always thought was a possibility.
09:33So we'll see how that goes.
09:34But nonetheless, I think the Eagles are stacked with a lot of draft capital and whatever way they decide to go with this, I think it's going to work out because, you know,
09:43they have the leverage in this situation to make it work and how he's done all of the above before and they've mostly worked out.
09:52Now, a guy that we've talked about a lot, if they stay at 32, is Walter Nolan.
09:57And this came out a few days ago, but I just wanted to highlight the Eagles actually brought him in on a top 30 that had not been reported previously.
10:05But Adam Kaplan on Inside the Birds says that Walter Nolan came in on a top 30.
10:10And if I had to guess, if there was a hierarchy right now, what guy would the Eagles prefer if they stay at 32?
10:17I think Walter Nolan's right there.
10:19And if he's on the board, I do not see them trading back out of it.
10:22I think they'll take Walter Nolan, an interior defensive lineman, especially with Milton Williams leaving.
10:27If you go back and you compare their scouting profiles, they're actually very similar.
10:31And Walter Nolan actually graded out higher than Milton Williams.
10:34He actually has more potential than they said Milton Williams had.
10:38Definitely in my top three or five prospects that I've been looking at.
10:42So shout out to Walter Nolan.
10:43And if he's there, I think he's going to be a Philadelphia Eagle.
10:46Another guy that has been mentioned now is Olufwami Oledejo.
10:51I'll call him Femi Oledejo just so I don't butcher his first name.
10:55But Eagles have apparently hosted him as well on a top 30 visit.
10:59Tony Pauline is reporting that Oledejo could be a target for the Eagles at 32.
11:04I do not think that's going to happen.
11:06This would be more of like a trade back scenario in my opinion.
11:09I've heard Oledejo's name in the second round, in the third round.
11:12I don't think he's going to get up to 32.
11:14If he does, shout out to him.
11:15But I just don't see it happening anyway.
11:17The Birds apparently really like him.
11:19And I have been hearing some chatter for the last couple weeks.
11:22Here's what Tony Pauline said.
11:24Quote, in combos late last week, I was informed that Oledejo will end up being selected anywhere
11:28from 30 to 45 besides the Niners who hold pick 43.
11:33I'm told the Eagles with the last pick in round one, as well as the Titans and Patriots
11:37at the top of round two are possibilities to pull the trigger on Oledejo.
11:41So, look, this is another exciting prospect.
11:44I think he would definitely fit the Eagles' defense.
11:47Question is, where do they want to pick?
11:49Are some of the other names that they've mentioned beforehand on the board?
11:52And if they trade back, would they still be able to get them?
11:55So, either way, we know that the Eagles are going to target defenders early on.
11:59We'll see what happens.
12:00The best part about Howie is that he knows how to navigate the board and navigate the draft
12:03picks, and we'll see what they do.
12:05What do you think they do, though?
12:06Give me your thoughts down below.
12:08As always, appreciate everybody for tapping in.
12:10Be sure to like, comment, and subscribe, and I'll catch you on the next one.