Eagles double down on commitment to Jalen Hurts in 2022, and ‘opportunity to add’ around him

Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni and general manager Howie Roseman affirmed Jalen Hurts was the starting quarterback heading into the 2022 season, despite the franchise having three first-round draft picks and plenty of ammunition to facilitate a trade. 

Both Sirianni and Roseman doubled down on that statement at the NFL Scouting Combine Wednesday. Roseman wants to build the roster around Hurts this offseason, giving the quarterback more talent to work with going forward. 

“Nothing’s changed. What really has changed for us is the opportunity to add,” Roseman said Wednesday. “We got to continue to add good players and make sure we are continuing to do everything we can to maximize our players’ ability to be successful. That certainly starts with the quarterback.” 

The Eagles have an opportunity to add talent to the roster this offseason with a projected $18,506,260 in salary cap space and three first-round picks (No. 15, No. 16, and No. 19 overall). Giving Hurts added pass catchers on offense would benefit. DeVonta Smith (916 yards), tight end Dallas Goedert (830) and Quez Watkins (647 yards) were the only Eagles receivers to surpass 300 yards in 2021. Jalen Reagor, J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, and Greg Ward combined for 430 yards and five touchdowns in 17 games — so an upgrade is needed for the Eagles to properly evaluate Hurts. 

Hurts completed 61.3% of his passes for 3,144 yards with 16 touchdowns to nine interceptions for an 87.2 rating on the year, and he’s just the second quarterback in Eagles history to throw for 3,000 yards and rush for 750 yards in a season — and the eighth to reach those numbers in NFL history. He improved as the season went on, completing a season-high 66.7% of his passes for 709 yards with three touchdowns to just one interception for a 101.3 passer rating in leading Philadelphia to a 9-8 record and playoff berth — one year after the Eagles went 4-11-1. 

Hurts is also the only quarterback to throw for 4,000 yards and rush for 1,000 yards in his first 20 career starts (he’s started only 19 games in his career). The talent is clearly there, but it’s up to the Eagles to help Hurts maximize that potential. 

“As you watch more and more (individual tape), you’re pleased with the progression Jalen has made,” Sirianni said. “That’s common of who Jalen Hurts is as a player and as a quarterback. He just continues to get better. We know progression is gonna continue. 

“He’s just willing to do the things that he needs to do to get better and that’s why he does continue to get better. You can see the progression of him getting better throughout the year in different things. 

“He led us to the playoffs and we want to do better than that. We’re confident Jalen is a guy that can help us do that.”