Getty Eagles center Jason Kelce attempted to fire up his teammates with an emotional speech.
All-Pro center Jason Kelce hurt his knee in Week 12 and was due to be re-evaluated. Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni promised an update on Wednesday, December 1. In the meantime, the team brought in a familiar face for a tryout.
Luke Juriga was at the practice facility and could join the practice squad assuming he’s healthy. The undrafted center out of Western Michigan was on the Eagles’ training camp roster before getting waived with an injury designation on August 21. Juriga (6-foot-3, 298 pounds) was initially signed in 2020 and saw action in one game. He played 14 snaps at center in relief of Kelce.
The Eagles are likely bringing him back as an insurance policy in case Kelce is out for an extended period. Or maybe they already know the results of Kelce’s MRI and plan to announce it. The Eagles have only one backup center on the active depth chart in Nate Herbig. And he may need to start at right guard after Jack Driscoll was placed on injured reserve.
Jason Kelce named Landon Dickerson, Isaac Seumalo, Luke Juriga and Nate Herbig as possible in-house replacements.
This just shows the Eagles’ depth on the offensive line 💯
Kelce’s absence would be a huge loss to one of the most dominant offensive lines in football. His leadership sets the tempo for the top-ranked rushing attack in football – 1,895 yards, 157.9 yards per game. Kelce gutted out 36 snaps (out of 67) on a bum knee against the Giants while earning the undying respect of his teammates.
“Just a tenacious dude. He’s the embodiment of this team. He’s the embodiment of, in my opinion, Philadelphia,” running back Boston Scott said of Kelce. “Just gritty, nasty – you might knock him down but he’s going to get right back up. Works hard, blue collar. I have a tremendous amount of respect for him.”
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Eagles Protect 4 Players on Practice Squad
The Eagles protected four players on the practice squad: T Le’Raven Clark, WR John Hightower, DB Jared Mayden, LB JaCoby Stevens. No other teams can steal them away during the week. There’s not too much to dissect with the names, other than the decision to keep an extra receiver around is mildly interesting.
Jalen Reagor has been feeling the wrath of Philly fans on social media following his two costly drops. Several Twitter users used the minor roster move to throw shade at Reagor. They are hoping the team elevates Hightower over him.
@Eagles Shit put Reagor on practice squad and Hightower on active roster
Vote of Confidence for Nate Herbig
Offensive coordinator Shane Steichen admitted that losing Kelce does dramatically change the complexion of the game. He is the captain of the offensive line, the guy who calls out all the protections and keeps the hogs on task. Not having Kelce out there certainly changes their ability to make adjustments on the fly. However, Steichen expressed growing confidence in Herbig to do the job.
“Yeah, he does [make the protection calls], but Nate Herbig, like I said, he prepares like crazy every week,” Steichen said. “So, he does a good job of seeing it and communicating as well. That trickles down. When Kelce’s in those meetings, everyone is hearing the same thing. So, when Nate steps in, he did a heck of a job.”
So @Eagles center Kelce 👀👀👀