Best of unCovering the Birds: Why the O-line transition matters

This is what Howie Roseman told a group of reporters Wednesday:

“Nothing has changed in terms of our goals. We’re trying to win this year.”

Based on everything that’s gone down this week, it would be fair to doubt the Eagles’ chances.

Injuries continued to pile up after the brutal loss to the Rams.

The most important piece of the Eagles’ offensive line abruptly retired Tuesday.

Then, less than 24 hours later, Roseman traded another starter from the beleaguered group.

These are developments that might not point to optimism.

Here’s something else Roseman said:

“You want to have an extended run. My job is to look at how we can have sustained success for a long period of time.”

I actually don’t disagree with Roseman — there are ways for the Eagles to salvage this rocky start to the season, even if it feels a little grim.

But how did the Eagles get here?

We have to really take a close look at the decisions that brought them to this point … and how it seemingly represents a departure from the organizational philosophy that’s guided them for nearly two decades.

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The Eagles’ success for the last decade, and really since the start of the millennium, has been based on the core philosophy that former Eagles coach Andy Reid and team president Joe Banner fostered more than 25 years ago, and that was to build your roster through the trenches. Yes, getting a quarterback is of the utmost importance, but protecting him and pressuring opposing quarterbacks was foundational.

Reid and Banner fell short of realizing their goal, but three of the four core linemen who brought championships to Philly were drafted during their tenure. Roseman continued that tradition by drafting Lane Johnson and others who would be instrumental in the 2017 and 2024 Super Bowl runs.

But Roseman might have lost sight of what help the Eagles reach those pinnacles, especially when it came to replacing Johnson and the battered Landon Dickerson and Cam Jurgens. Johnson had been on the brink of retiring for years. Dickerson and Jurgens played through various injuries that needed offseason surgery in 2025. They were obvious lesser versions of themselves that season, and last offseason they each went to Colombia for stem-cell treatment.

And yet, Roseman didn’t expend a pick on an O-lineman in the first two rounds of four straight drafts from 2023-26. Many expected Roseman to draft Johnson’s replacement in this year’s draft.

Roseman eventually took Markel Bell in the third round. Bell will continue to start in place of Johnson. Roseman also drafted guard Micah Morris in the sixth round, so he did address the O-line needs, but was it too late? The jury is out on Bell and Morris, just as it is on all the first- round tackles who were taken, but it was somewhat surprising that Roseman didn’t do anything more in free agency or the trade market to cover himself in case the youngsters weren’t ready. He brought back tackle Fred Johnson and he signed unknowns to futures contracts in January and undrafted rookies in May, but none made the 53-man roster.

» READ MORE: The Eagles are doing something scarier than tanking, rebuilding, or going all in. They’ll be better for it.

Center Drew Kendall and interior lineman Willie Lampkin had promising offseasons, which gave Roseman depth he admitted he wasn’t quite sure he had entering training camp. But it seemed only a matter of time until Dickerson would break, and it came in the first game when he had one of the worst performances of his career. He later said he suffered a bone bruise in his knee before the season, but the Eagles seemed ill-prepared to replace him.

Rather than promote Kendall or Lampkin into his spot, they moved Jurgens from center to left guard and promoted Kendall to center, Their rationale was that Jurgens had played a season at right guard in 2023 and that Kendall was more naturally suited to center, a position he exclusively played in college …

Kendall showed his potential in each game since starting, but Jurgens struggled mightily. His confidence had already been tested the year before, following back surgery, and now he lost his spot and was playing a position where he had never even practiced. If this was the Eagles’ plan all along, why didn’t they ever train in that configuration?

Dickerson said he felt bad for putting Jurgens in that spot and that he didn’t think the switch was fair to the fifth-year O-lineman.

“Cam is a center. I do hate that we made that decision to move him to left guard,” Dickerson said on 94 WIP. “Because you never want to mess up — if one person goes down, you don’t want to mess up two people just to fix it. Obviously I don’t have a say when it comes to personnel stuff, but I think it was just a moment where we don’t have the depth that you would ideally like to have across the board. That was the way to get the best five guys onto the field.”

Jeff Stoutland always avoided moving two players if he only had to move one. There were myriad reasons why the Eagles lost their last two games, and why quarterback Jalen Hurts’ protection hasn’t been sound, but Jurgens had clearly become the weakest link on the line.

Coach Nick Sirianni said he was pleased with his play the day after the Rams loss, but two days later, Jurgens was traded to the Ravens. At the moment it might have suggested that Roseman was punting on the season the day after Johnson retired, but the return said otherwise. The Eagles got back a 2028 second-round draft pick and a 2027 fifth-rounder for Jurgens and a 2027 seventh-rounder. There’s almost no way Roseman could have turned that down, especially with Kendall showing signs that he can at least be a stopgap.

Quite frankly, I was shocked the Ravens agreed to the deal. They were desperate for a center after injuries, and maybe Jurgens just needed a change of environment, but the film of him even at his natural position dating back to last season isn’t great. And back injuries can be chronic, especially for offensive linemen.

I also think Roseman could reload at the position. A couple NFL sources told me he was shopping for a starting-caliber offensive lineman as of Wednesday. The Eagles’ outlook may look dire right now, but they were just a play or two from being 3-1 despite all their injuries. It’s far too early to pack the bags.

That said, Roseman is keeping an eye toward the future. He’s always juggling the short-term with the long-term, and while he may have fallen short in preparing for the carnage on the O-line this season, one of his greatest strengths is moving on from a mistake and working to correct it.

This is nuanced stuff. There are a lot of factors that can get in the way of building the roster as you envision, but if you slip on the thinnest of margins it can all go sideways. And that may be how the season unfolds. In my years on the beat, the Eagles’ worst seasons often included multiple injuries on the offensive line — 2012, 2015, and 2020.

If the quarterback doesn’t have time to operate in the pocket, it usually spells disaster. I asked Hurts how he felt about his offensive line after the changes:

“I feel good about it. Feel good about the guys that we have,” Hurts said. “I feel good about about the work we’re putting forward. And the week will tell how much that’ll improve.”

Listen to the latest episode

For over two decades, one of the guiding personnel principles of the Philadelphia Eagles organization has been to prioritize the offensive line. Through four games, and this past week in particular, the group has undergone dramatic turnover. Hall of Fame-caliber tackle Lane Johnson retired. Cam Jurgens was shipped to Baltimore in a trade. Their respective replacements have potential, but, compared to how general manager Howie Roseman has stockpiled talent on the line in the past, the options now seem less optimal. Did Roseman and the Eagles stray from a long-held philosophy? The Inquirer’s Jeff McLane retraces key decisions that brought the team to this point. Listen here.

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