Eagles QB Jalen Hurts Embracing Uniqueness: 'Triple Threat!'
PHILADELPHIA – When the Philadelphia Eagles announced Jalen Hurts $255 million contract extension in April, coach Nick Sirianni said the organization didn’t sign him to use him less.
Of course not.
That said, the head coach and the franchise will do everything they possibly can to protect Hurts, so that maybe this year will be the first time he will be able to start all 17 regular-season games.
Three months later, after the first day of training camp on Wednesday, Sirianni expounded on his usage of Hurts
“Jalen is making a lot of money now,” Sirianni said. “Sure, you know that, but we feel like we've been doing that the past two years of protecting him and him knowing how to protect himself so he is able to play the majority of the season.
“But we didn't go into the '21 season like ‘Well, if he gets hurt, whatever.’ We had the same conversations we're having today back then. The process hasn't changed all that much as far as how we tell Jalen to protect himself and how we call plays to make sure we don't put him at risk.”
Protecting a quarterback who can run like Hurts is an age-old discussion in Philadelphia, which has had QBs who offer that skill set.
It was a question asked about Donovan McNabb when he played in Philly for 11 years and Michael Vick during his five-year stay in an Eagles uniform. The question was even kicked about with Carson Wentz, who then-offensive coordinator Frank Reich once said they wanted him to pick up at least one first down per game with his legs.
You can break the numbers down all you want, about how many of his runs are by design, how many times he takes off on RPO plays, how often he scrambles, and how many times he utilizes the “tush push” or on kneel-downs at the end of games.
The bottom line is the accumulation of hits no matter how they happen.
“Every time we run him, it's always about protecting him,” said Sirianni. “That's just always been our thought process and our process of how we run the quarterback, how we want him to protect himself.
"We still talk about it. We talked about it, but it would have been malpractice on my part if I didn't do that when he was the starter going into the 2021 season.”
Hurts’ skill set makes him unique. The quarterback himself says he is a triple threat in that he can beat you with his arm, his legs, and his mind.
“I am embracing the uniqueness of my game, and just being a triple threat out there,” he said. “Just being someone knowledgeable and understanding of what’s going on, on the field, and being able to make those throws. And being able to cause problems on the ground as well.
"Those are the three areas of quarterback that I’m embracing, and that I want to continue to excel at.”
In his first two seasons as the full-time starter, Hurts has run for 23 touchdowns and carried the ball 304 times.
He’s still just 24 with an invincible mindset, but sooner or later he will likely need to cut back on his runs in order to stay fresh as the season goes along, especially since both injuries he suffered the past two seasons – the ankle and the shoulder – came later in the year.
“Everybody has different styles of doing things," he said. "I think that’s why quarterback is one of the most unique positions because everybody gets it done in different ways.
“I think my way is a little different. It’s rare in a sense. Regardless, I always talk about you just want to find a way to get it done. We have great players on the team, and we all play well on the team, and we want to continue to do that.”
Ed Kracz covers the Philadelphia Eagles for SI's EaglesToday.
Please follow him and our Eagles coverage on Twitter at @kracze.
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