Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni has finally decided to state the obvious — Jalen Hurts is Philadelphia’s QB1.
“Jalen knows nobody else got any reps with the 1’s so you could really argue that we named our starter a while ago,” Sirianni said Tuesday, via Reuben Frank of NBC Sports Philadelphia. “Jalen’s our starter. I consistently saw a player that got better every single day. He did exactly what we wanted him to do.”
It has been plainly clear from the outset that Hurts would be the Eagles’ starter entering the 2021 season, but to this point, Sirianni just hadn’t said it out loud. The quarterback didn’t play much in the preseason to preserve his health, but did lead the club to a scoring drive in the first preseason game against Pittsburgh.
Last year, Hurts compiled a 1-3 record as a starter for Philadelphia after the club selected him in the second round of the draft. Overall, Hurts completed 52 percent of his passes for 1,061 yards with six touchdowns and four interceptions. He also rushed for 354 yards with three touchdowns.
Hurts will have a chance to make his case as a franchise quarterback. But the Eagles do have a pair of first-round picks that could become three if Carson Wentz played enough snaps for the Colts this season.