Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni and general manager Howie Roseman look as though they’re doing everything possible to squash any inklings of quarterback drama heading into the offseason.
On Wednesday, they said it as emphatically as possible: Jalen Hurts is the No. 1 man under center moving forward toward 2022.
“Jalen knows where he stands with us. He knows he’s our quarterback,” Sirianni said, according to NBC Sports Philadelphia. “How do you know where you stand with a coaching staff? You communicate, and you talk over and over and over and over again. So Jalen knows where he stands with us. I thought he did a great job of getting better throughout the year.
“There are no secrets there. He knows he’s our guy.”
The rumor mill almost immediately began to churn about Hurts’ future with the team following a miserable performance against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a 31-15 NFC Wild Card Game loss on Sunday.
It was the final memory of an inconsistent season that saw Hurts turn in up-and-down performances while dealing with injury issues. However, he did show improvements in 2021.
Hurts’ completion percentage jumped nine points from 52% to 61.3% while posting 3,144 passing yards, a team-high 784 rushing yards, and 26 total touchdowns compared to nine interceptions.
“We talk about Jalen and the growth he had. Really a first-year starter, second-year player, leading this team to the playoffs. Tremendously impressed by his work ethic, his leadership,” Roseman said. “Last time we talked was during camp and we said we wanted to see him take the bull by the horn, and he certainly did that.”
For those hoping for a trade for a veteran quarterback or the utilization of a first-round draft pick (one of three) for a quarterback prospect, keep dreaming.
“For us, we’ve got to do whatever we can to help him continue to develop and how do we do that? By surrounding him with really good players,” Roseman said of the Eagles’ plans this offseason. “We’re continuing to figure out ways to build. We’re not happy that our season ended [in the Wild Card Round]. We want to build a team that has home playoff games, really build a team that gets a bye. Those assets allow us to continue to build and add good players to our team.”
That means the Eagles are going to focus on collecting viable playmakers to build up the defense while finding weapons to surround Hurts with — offering the hope of a lethal offense that already features the NFL’s best rushing attack.
“We’re in this mode of trying to build this team and get as many talented players that we possibly can to compete for championships going forward,” Roseman said. “We have a great opportunity to do that this offseason, to keep building.”
