The offseason retirement of future Hall of Fame center Jason Kelce left the Philadelphia Eagles without a long-time leader, but quarterback Jalen Hurts seems hyped about taking more responsibility at the line of scrimmage while playing alongside new starting center Cam Jurgens.
“We had a great player in Jason Kelce who took on a lot of responsibility, and as a result of that, I was told not to worry about a lot of things,” Hurts explained during a Thursday appearance on Philadelphia sports radio station 94.1 WIP, as ESPN’s Tim McManus shared. “And so my eagerness to learn over the years kind of was halted because of who we had, but now times are different, and I’m excited for that journey and this opportunity.”
Kelce featured at center for the Eagles from 2011 through last season and routinely called out checks for blitz protections during his tenure with the organization. Meanwhile, Grant Gordon of the NFL’s website noted that Jurgens, a 2022 second-round draft pick, started 11 games at right guard for Philadelphia during the 2023 campaign.
Hurts, along with new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore and new quarterbacks coach Doug Nussmeier, have been tasked with taking command of Philadelphia’s offense after the 2023 Eagles lost six of their final seven games (including the playoffs). Head coach Nick Sirianni embracing “more of a CEO-type role” should make Hurts the true in-game general of his offense this fall for better or worse.
“It’s been a role that I’ve been waiting on,” Hurts added during the WIP interview. “I know we’ve had a well-respected, Hall of Fame guy who’s been doing that, and now we [have] the opportunity to do that. It’s something I’ve been wanting, and I think that’s how it’s supposed to be.”
NFL insider Dianna Russini of The Athletic reported in July that general manager Howie Roseman “had his hands all over every decision” made by the Eagles this offseason, including the hiring of Moore, which presumably will result in Hurts having more control of the offense. As Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk pointed out, opposing defenses will want “to test Hurts’ ability to handle” identifying pass rushers and changing protection calls at the line of scrimmage in Moore’s offense beginning with the Week 1 game against the Green Bay Packers in Brazil on Sept. 6.
History shows Sirianni will be blamed if this experiment goes poorly for the 2024 Eagles, but it shouldn’t be forgotten that Roseman is responsible for the Hurts-Moore arrangement.
