The Ravens made a significant leap and paid a steep price trading for Philadelphia center Cam Jurgens this week, with longtime Eagles team president Joe Banner speaking for many working for teams around the league in saying Baltimore general manager Eric DeCosta overpaid for the player.

The Ravens were in a pretty dire situation at center, in part due to injuries to fringe players and in part due to their own mismanagement of the position, and it began with not getting an extension done with star center Tyler Linderbaum well before he became a free agent and ignoring the position despite having picks in the draft. Jurgens, 27, underwent back/nerve surgery in February 2025, has not been the same player since and Banner, who watched his film closely and was integral in the rise of that franchise along with current Eagles GM Howie Roseman, a former Banner protegee  and former coach Andy Reid, believes Jurgens was losing his grip on a starting guard job with the Eagles.

Therefore, giving up a second-round pick in 2028 and a fifth-round pick in 2027 seems quite desperate.

The fact that Jurgens cannot even play this week as he is still in the concussion protocol following a loss to the Rams Sunday, even further speaks to the quirky timing, with Roseman moving on from one of his highest-paid lineman at a time he is already down All-Pro guard Landon Dickerson and with superstar tackle Lane Johnson just retiring. Hence why DeCosta is drawing criticism around the league for this move.

“I think it's hard to disagree with that word,” Banner explained of that "desperation" on “The Daily Flock Show” this week. “It's obviously a very strong word, but I don't think it's an exaggeration or more provocative than it intends to be. That's at least my opinion. I mean, I obviously follow the Eagles as closely as any team in the league. So, at least I have a strong, informed opinion on what they do and who the player is.”

Headed To The Bench?

As to who that player is, since the nerve problems created pain up and down his legs that marred his 2025 campaign, there are real questions being asked around the NFL about how he will hold up. The Eagles clearly did not want him snapping the ball regularly despite being a former Pro Bowl center; he was struggling mightily at guard, and, making $16.5M this season with essentially $17.5m guaranteed for next season, Banner believes Roseman was eager to shed this salary despite his line woes.  

“The Eagles were really highly motivated to make a trade,” Banner said. “Even with all their problems at the moment (on the line), I mean, I guess I can't prove this, but from talking to people in the building, my impression is that he's about to be benched. You know, he comes in Monday, all of a sudden he's got a concussion. I think they were actually benching him.”

Banner was the president of the Eagles from 2001-2012 and then ran the Browns for two years. He is still very plugged in around the NFL and has always had a strong pulse on the Eagles and has known their owner for quite a long time. He is not one to come off half-cocked and he went back and watched all of Jurgens’s snaps this season again before we chatted.

He knows and understands how Roseman operates as well as anyone and was adamant the Eagles are not waving the white flag on trying to win this season and simply start cashing in good players for draft picks. Banner just thinks it was over-the-top offer they couldn't refuse for a player they saw as steadily on the decline.

“The Eagles are in a real cap problem,” Banner explained. “So getting out of cap is a huge benefit to them. Cap number this year isn't very big but starting next year where it's guaranteed the cap number is very high. You know some people say, ‘Oh it's a great value.’ He's the fourth-highest paid center going forward from today in football. I mean he's not even close at this point in his career to the fourth-best center the league.”

The Ravens are now able to move rookie Vega Ioane back to guard and Jurgens brings leadership, a warrior-mentality and excellent communication skills to a position that was sorely lacking in it in Baltimore and should be a decent upgrade over the likes of Jovaughn Gwyn. That’s if he can return to form at center and stay healthy for a considerable period of time. So, yeah, people around the league are a little baffled.

“You got to the point where you're offering a two for a center who's, you know, really struggled recently and they somehow convince you that's not enough,” Banner exclaimed, “that you need you need to throw more into the pot.”

The full discussion, which includes a chat about the Ravens's roster and cap situation, is below.

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