What Doug Pederson told Carson Wentz before the Jalen Hurts pick went down

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When the Eagles picked Jalen Hurts in the second round on Friday night, an obvious first question arose. 

How would this affect the team's relationship with franchise quarterback Carson Wentz?

Using a second-round draft pick on a quarterback is a very different move than using, say, a fifth-round pick, or signing an aging veteran during the offseason. Should we be worried about impending drama?

Eagles general manager Howie Roseman said on Friday night that the team told Wentz about the pick before it was official, and in an appearance on NBC Sports' Lunch Talk Live with Mke Tirico, head coach Doug Pederson went more in-depth about what they told Wentz.

Here's Pederson:

We just wanted him to understand that, you know, we value - we value the quarterback position extremely high here in Philadelphia. 

But at the same time, Carson understands, and I wanted him to know, that he's our starter, he's the face of the Philadelphia Eagles, he's the franchise. He is the guy that's going to take us back, hopefully, one day, back to the Super Bowl, and get back to that championship level. So I wanted him to understand that first.

But we also understand, and wanted him to understand, that we're going to continue to evaluate quarterbacks, and continue to draft quarterbacks every year. I've been a part of this as a player, in my days in Green Bay, and obviously as a coach, also.

All things considered, that's probably the best message the front office could've sent Wentz without sounding disingenuous: You're still our guy, but we're going to be looking at other guys.

Does it leave the door open for interpretation? Absolutely. It's hard not to have a seed of doubt, even though Pederson wanted Wentz to know that he's the "face of the Philadelphia Eagles". Actions speak louder than words, and using a second-round pick on a quarterback is a very loud action.

You'll notice, of course, that Pederson didn't mention whether he brought up the issue of durability while talking with Wentz, a factor that likely played a big role in drafting Hurts.

Wentz outwardly welcomed Hurts to the team on social media, and will more than likely play the role of the unbothered veteran quarterback when we get closer to the 2020 regular season. He's a good dude, he already has his long-term contract, and he has proven many times that he can play at an elite level in the NFL. Why should he be worried about job security?

For now, it seems like the Wentz-Eagles relationship is perfectly fine. But it's also certainly more interesting than it was before the draft began.

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