Philadelphia Eagles: Howie Roseman has a vested interest in Jalen Hurts

Philadelphia Eagles fans, take what people say about your favorite team during the offseason with a grain of salt.

Last offseason, the Eagles were trash, a bottom-5 team, and wouldn’t sniff the playoffs again for years to come. They couldn’t draft well, had a signal-caller who couldn’t even crack Chris Simms’ Top-40 quarterbacks list, and had the worst head coaching hire by far of any team in that year’s coaching class.

Instead, the Eagles had a very good draft, congratulated their quarterback for being named a Pro Bowl alternative, and watched Nick Sirianni lead the team to the playoffs as a nine-win team.

Regardless of how the season ended, morale appears to be at a relative high at the NovaCare Center, and Howie Roseman has passed that along during his postseason media availability, praising his coach, his roster, and most importantly of all, his young quarterback. While Roseman’s words, too, should be taken with a grain of salt, it’s clear the Philadelphia Eagles’ veteran personnel man has a vested interest in Jalen Hurts‘ success.

The Philadelphia Eagles clearly want Jalen Hurts to be successful.

The better Jalen Hurts plays, the better Howie Roseman looks.

Is that an oversimplification of the biggest question presented to the Philadelphia Eagles this offseason? Maybe a little bit, but if you really think about it for a second, it makes sense.

Despite identifying Carson Wentz as a franchise guy, having that belief vindicated in 2017, and then signing him to a nine-figure contract, Roseman kept his eyes on the quarterback market for an upgrade – see Foles, Nick – and when a signal-caller he liked fell to the team in the 2020 NFL Draft, he ultimately pulled the trigger on a two-time national champion with that much-coveted Oklahoma pedigree.

Was the move criticized at the time? You bet; it was equal parts puzzling as it was hilarious in a twisted sort of way, but when Wentz struggled greatly and Hurts closed out the season as the starter, Roseman’s foresight looked oddly prophetic, even if some fans still wanted to see things through with 11 under center in 2022.

Fast forward past Doug Pederson‘s firing, Nick Sirianni’s hiring, and the decision to trade away Wentz – though not in that order – and Roseman made it clear that he wanted to see Hurts “take the bull by the horns as a first-year starter” even if that didn’t result in another long and fruitful Super Bowl run.

Based on his postseason statement to the media, the “Teflon GM” appears to be happy with how Hurts embraced the challenge presented to him.

See what I mean? Pretty rosy for four days removed from an ugly playoff loss.

Now granted, could Roseman spin right around and ship Hurts and three first-round picks to the Seattle Seahawks for Russell Wilson? Most definitely, Wilson has long been Roseman’s white whale, and it wouldn’t be the first time a team was “fully committed to a player” only to trade them shortly thereafter- just ask Wentz – but again, does that directly benefit the front office?

No.

After a few bad drafts and an offseason with the most dead money on the books in NFL history currently in the rearview, Roseman is looking pretty good right now. He built a playoff roster with very few choices assets, amassed 10 draft picks heading into a pivotal offseason, and even picked at least three really good players in the 2021 NFL Draft. While trading Hurts wouldn’t be akin to waving the white flag and admitting defeat, don’t you think Roseman would rather roll with his current moment, add as many as five legit difference makers on the first two days of the 2022 NFL Draft and then try to attract a veteran QB in 2023 if Hurts doesn’t than turn into Seattle East with critical talent deficiencies at positions of need?

After watching Roseman operate for his entire tenure with the team, the former situation seems far more likely than the latter.

Is Jalen Hurts the Philadelphia Eagles’ guaranteed quarterback for the next decade-plus? No. Are the Philadelphia Eagles an elite quarterback away from being a legit Super Bowl contender? No. For better or worse, the Eagles are best suited to use their assets on young, ascending talent on cost-controlled contracts – especially on defense – which is easier to do if a team doesn’t trade away their best assets for an aging starter before the right roster is in place. If such a trade/signing happens because the Eagles built a premier roster, then that’s a win for Howie Roseman. If Hurts puts it all together and becomes a top-15 quarterback on that premier roster, then that looks good on Roseman too. Either way, he wins and remains employed for years to come.