The Philadelphia Eagles are set to play the Green Bay Packers on Monday Night Football. This is a tough matchup coming out of the bye, but it looks like the time off helped wideout A.J. Brown and running back Saquon Barkley rest up for the second half of the season, as well as give some much-needed rest to other banged-up Eagles.
That wasn't the same story for center Cam Jurgens, who was a non-participant for the Eagles on Friday's practice. With him not practicing for two straight days, it looks like he'll miss his second straight game, leaving fans to speculate when he'll finally return to action.
Eagles Must Be Cautious with Cam Jurgens
As tempting as it might be, the Eagles shouldn't rush Jurgens' return, as Brett Toth seemed more than capable of holding things down on the inside. The former Army Black Knight had his best performance of the season against the New York Giants in Week 8, finishing with a season-high 88.6 overall grade and a 91.7 run-blocking grade on Pro Football Focus.
Toth has been a solid depth piece along the trenches for Philadelphia, and since Jurgens still doesn't appear ready to go, the Eagles must take things slow with Jurgens and allow him enough time to rest up for the playoff push.
Even before he went down with a knee injury, Jurgens wasn't playing to his normal standards, since he had back surgery in the offseason. It's certainly been a tough couple of months for the 26-year-old.
What Jurgens can do in the run game is massive and will play a big role in what the Eagles want to do when December and January hit.
In the meantime, Philly has the Packers and Detroit Lions next on their schedule, which are tough NFC matchups for sure. Nonetheless, injuries are a part of the game, and this is where the depth they built can hold up. If the Eagles can survive without Jurgens, they should feel even more confident come playoff time.
Another reason why the Eagles could take things slow with Jurgens is that rookie Willie Lampkin returned to practice, and Philadelphia opened up his 21-day practice window. He's close to returning and will give the Eagles another depth piece along the interior.
Landon Dickerson is another offensive lineman who has missed time for Philadelphia this season. It has already forced the Eagles to lean on their depth, and this is another case where they need to.
Jurgens, once he's healthy enough, will return to the starting lineup, but the Eagles should wait until he's as healthy as possible so it limits the chance that he re-aggravates that injury.