Philadelphia Eagles: Howie Roseman’s method to the Jalen Hurts madness

Howie Roseman isn’t shy about the Philadelphia Eagles’ backup quarterback.

Howie Roseman has been fully aware of the Philadelphia Eagles‘ cap implications heading into 2021. Since the coronavirus hit, the potential long-term effects have to have been on every NFL personnel’s mind, including without question Roseman.

Each team in the NFL aims to lose $70 million in revenue just from not having fans in the stadium alone. The 2021 cap has the potential to be much lower than the 2020 cap due to the impact of COVID. The effect on the salary cap will put the Eagles in a tougher spot than their projected negative $50 million in cap space.

With the salary cap down, teams are going to have to look long and hard at making cost-saving releases, especially at positions where they aren’t getting their money’s worth.

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The Cleveland Browns face a reality of potentially cutting Case Keenum for cap relief a year after signing him to his massive backup quarterback salary of $18 million. The Las Vegas Raiders may opt to cut Marcus Mariota if he doesn’t serve more purpose than being a backup with his $17.6 million salary to save $10 million in cap space. The Detriot Lions will probably have to cut Chase Daniel after this season now after giving him $13.3 million to be the backup so they can get back some cap relief that’s a little over $2 million. Even if Nick Foles doesn’t step up and become Chicago Bears starting quarterback this season, they’ll need to move on to get his $24 million off the books, but they’ll have to do so by trade or post-June 1st designation cut.

The point being, Roseman might be two steps ahead of the league with his quarterback room. Teams will have to rely on lower-tier backup quarterbacks due to salary implications. The majority of the league has already treated the backup quarterback situation with cost-efficient options because of their salary cap dilemmas.

Roseman knows the durability of his franchise quarterback, Carson Wentz, is in question. The Eagles Executive Vice President knows the team won’t be able to afford a luxury free agent QB to back up Wentz. Ignore the Cam Newton and Jameis Winston’s low salary contracts. Both those deals are one-year commitments. Signing either one would have put the Eagles in the same revolving door of backup quarterbacks year after year going that route.

Maybe Roseman decided to draft a young, and mobile quarterback he grew confident with Jalen Hurts after their meeting at the Senior Bowl, which was the exact route necessary to solve the backup quarterback conundrum. Eagles beat writer for NJ.com, Mike Kaye, joined the Eagles Brawl podcast and reported from his sources how Roseman fell for Hurts.

"“From what I was told, during the Senior Bowl, Jalen Hurts met with Howie Roseman,” Kaye said. “They had a great conversation. Howie Roseman basically fell in love with him. They view culture as a No. 1 priority. They also view the backup quarterback position higher than anybody in the league. In order for the Eagles to have a solid backup [under Carson Wentz’s high salary], you’re going to have to not spend. Howie asked himself are we going to spend a fifth-round pick on a Clayton Thorson again, or are we going to draft Hurts in the second-round, who has a high upside?”"

The perception that Hurts was drafted by Philadelphia to replace Wentz is false. The Eagles had the luxury of time on their side before giving Wentz his massive extension but opted to proceed with the deal anyway. The quarterback was coming off of another season-ending injury, yet the team’s brass showed no hesitation committing to the signal-caller even when they had every right to be.

When the Eagles made their four-year, $128 million pact with Wentz, the quarterback had two years remaining on his rookie deal with the fifth-year first-round option still in play. The organization could’ve waited it out, and if they did, picking Hurts in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft would’ve been a loud message sent on his future in Philadelphia. But instead, the Eagles selected Hurts after tying themselves to Wentz for the next four seasons, which is the entire duration of Hurts’ rookie contract.

Philadelphia faces dead cap implications of $77 million in 2020, $59.2 million in 2021, $24.5 million in 2022, and $15.2 million in 2023. The most feasible time to get rid of Wentz would be during the 2023 offseason for the Eagles. The organization would then have to turn around and pay Hurts starting quarterback money if he were to replace Wentz while taking on a decent-sized dead cap hit in the process. This scenario is possible, but very unlikely given Roseman’s ability to maneuver the cap extremely well.

The Eagles won’t even move on from their declining receiver Alshon Jeffery, the player who went behind the team’s back to bash their starting quarterback and Roseman to the media, because of his dead cap implications. Roseman and the entire Eagles organization knew the long-term impact of committing to Wentz and did so without a hiccup. Drafting Hurts does not change this process whatsoever.

Roseman wants to keep the Eagles in the best position to win. Philadelphia knows the importance of the backup quarterback position more than any team in the league. Don’t forget; this team won a Super Bowl with their backup quarterback once before. Maybe we shouldn’t take issue with the team getting the best talent possible at an affordable rate if they need to do it once again?

From the likes of A.J. Feeley, Jeff Garcia, Vince Young, Michael Vick, Mark Sanchez, and Nick Foles, the Philadelphia Eagles are no strangers to polarizing backup quarterbacks. Jalen Hurts is just the next name on that list. There is no quarterback controversy in Nova Care Complex, there’s just an organization that values the backup quarterback position more than most.