Eagles name Hurts and 6 other captains for 2022

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The Eagles have announced seven captains for the 2022 season as voted on by players:

• Jalen Hurts

• Jason Kelce

• Lane Johnson

• Brandon Graham

• Fletcher Cox

• Darius Slay

• Jake Elliott

In Doug Pederson’s last season as head coach, he took away the vote from players and named captains himself. Nick Sirianni in his first year as a head coach allowed players to vote. That’s what happened again in Year 2.

Jalen Hurts: The 24-year-old is a captain for the second straight season. No surprise. He’s the starting quarterback and also has some natural leadership ability. Players began to gravitate toward Hurts even when he was the backup as a rookie in 2020. He’s the youngest of the Eagles’ seven captains.

Jason Kelce: The 34-year-old center is a captain for the fifth straight season as he enters his 12th NFL season. Kelce just returned from an elbow injury/surgery and is expected to be ready for the season opener in Detroit on Sept. 11.

Lane Johnson: For whatever reason, the Eagles had just two offensive captains last year. They add Johnson to the mix in 2022. The veteran right tackle finally looks completely healthy and is motivated by missing the Pro Bowl in 2021.

Fletcher Cox: Like Kelce, this is Cox’s fifth straight season as a captain on this team. And like Kelce, there’s also a chance this could be Cox’s last season with the Eagles. He’s playing the 2022 season on a one-year, $14 million deal. Cox recently said he’s been taking time to appreciate everything a little more this summer.

Brandon Graham: Another repeat captain, Graham has been given the honor four times in the past six seasons. Graham, like Kelce, is 34 and he’s coming off an Achilles injury that ended his 2021 season very early. But Graham has looked healthy in training camp and the Eagles hope he’s still got it. This year will be Graham’s 13th season with the Eagles; he’s the longest-tenured athlete in the city.

Darius Slay: The Eagles let Rodney McLeod walk in free agency and Slay has taken his spot as a captain. Slay is entering his third season with the Eagles and has been as advertised at cornerback. But he’s also been a leader. Slay has always been happy to help young players on both sides of the ball and this is a nice honor for him.

Jake Elliott: The Eagles’ kicker is coming off his best professional season and a Pro Bowl honor. The Eagles’ special teams captain last season was Alex Singleton, who walked as a free agent.

Here’s a look back at year-by-year captains since the Eagles began naming them in 2017:

2017: Carson Wentz, Jason Peters, Malcolm Jenkins, Brandon Graham, Chris Maragos

2018: Carson Wentz, Jason Kelce, Malcolm Jenkins, Fletcher Cox, Kamu Grugier-Hill

2019: Carson Wentz, Jason Kelce, Malcolm Jenkins, Fletcher Cox, Kamu Grugier-Hill/Duke Riley

2020: Carson Wentz, Jason Kelce, Jason Peters, Fletcher Cox, Brandon Graham, Rodney McLeod, Duke Riley, Craig James

2021: Jalen Hurts, Jason Kelce, Fletcher Cox, Brandon Graham, Rodney McLeod, Alex Singleton

2022: Jalen Hurts, Jason Kelce, Lane Johnson, Fletcher Cox, Brandon Graham, Darius Slay, Jake Elliott

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