As the Eagles prepare for the NFL Draft, general manager Howie Roseman spoke to reporters about their approach to roster building on Tuesday. Among the many questions asked during the 27 minute press conference was one about their starting quarterback. Specifically, Roseman was asked about the recent report out of ESPN suggesting this is a make-or-break year for Jalen Hurts, as well as several other concerns from sources within the building.
“I have seen those reports — Bob [Lange] and our PR staff
do a great job of showing us what we need to see.
I would say that we have some faults, one of them is not being direct and honest with our players and our conversations with our players. So, for us, if we have any issue with any of our players, we talk to them directly so, from my perspective, from Nick [Sirianni]’s perspective, from Jeffrey [Lurie]’s perspective, we’re not hiding behind anything. We will talk to our players directly and I think that it’s unfair — it’s unfair to have these articles written, but I understand it’s also what sells at this point.
So, yeah, I think it’s unfortunate.“
Roseman certainly said a lot of words, but still failed to directly address some of the character accusations thrown at Hurts in the article. The GM implied that the suggestions following the article that the team was trying to send a message to the QB through the media were incorrect, but did little to actually defend Hurts from the disparaging things that were written about him.
Someone who has done a better job of putting things in perspective has been Eagles’ legend Jason Kelce, who recently spoke to Pat McAfee about Jalen Hurts and why he believes the criticism for the Super Bowl-winning QB is unfounded.
“My overall thing is, you know, especially with Jalen [Hurts] — what quarterback doesn’t want to run their stuff? This is kind of been a semblance of things that have been coming out over multiple years, but all of a sudden now it’s reached this point where there’s however many sources in there, and I think it’s very coicidental that it comes when the season and everything don’t go the way they want, and people are getting fired. The reality is sometimes these things that are weaknesesses when you’re losing, sometimes people view them as strengths when you’re winning. I think that kid’s been through a lot. I think he’s been through a lot of change, and I think he’s going to be through a lot of change this year.”
Hurts may not live off the opinions of others, but he also is very aware of those doubting him, both within and outside the building. Hopefully with the draft soon, the attention will shift away from these speculative narratives and go back to actual football things.
