Jeffrey Lurie affirms the Eagles’ commitment to Jalen Hurts: ‘We’ll be working with Jalen for a long time’

Lurie wants it to be clear that he's committed to working out a contract with Hurts.

Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts with Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Lurie holding the NFC Championship trophy.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer

Published Mar. 28, 2023, 10:20 p.m. ET

PHOENIX — Jeffrey Lurie further cemented the Eagles’ commitment to Jalen Hurts and general manager Howie Roseman’s statements that the team wants to sign him to a contract extension ahead of his fourth season by praising the 24-year-old quarterback’s diligence on Tuesday.

“We always knew Jalen was talented,” Lurie said at the NFL owners meetings. “Had a very live arm that we thought was discounted in college because he was such a great runner. His character was always considered great. Maybe the advantage we had was we really respected his ability to throw the football and that would improve based on his tremendous work ethic.

“I think the future is so great for him. He’s 24 years old. Honestly, I don’t know if I’ve ever met somebody that mature at age 24.”

Hurts could be a multimillionaire many times over by the time he turns 25 on Aug. 7. Roseman said on Monday that he hoped an extension could be reached “relatively soon,” but he offered few specifics on negotiations with Hurts’ agent, Nicole Lynn of Klutch Sports.

The Eagles have approached the offseason and free agency with the expectation that a contract with their quarterback in the $50 million-a-year range will place constraints on their salary cap flexibility, especially beyond this season.

Lurie has previously handed out what could be described as franchise-altering contracts to quarterbacks Donovan McNabb, Michael Vick, and Carson Wentz during his 29-year tenure as owner.

“Every quarterback is different,” Lurie said. “Donovan’s different. Carson was a unique situation and suffered a lot of serious injuries right after the contract. And Jalen’s very different from those two. The thing with Jalen that I’m so optimistic about is … seeing him virtually every day, he’s got incredible passion for being phenomenal.

“And you see that in the great ones.”

The Eagles clearly thought similarly of Wentz, who suffered season-ending knee and back injuries before he signed his extension after his third season. He had a solid 2019 campaign, but a concussion knocked him out of the first-round playoff game vs. the Seattle Seahawks and he regressed in 2020 after Hurts was drafted in the second round.

Lurie endorsed Roseman’s decision to draft Hurts that early even though the Eagles had Wentz, a move the owner said reflected the team’s longstanding philosophy to overinvest in professional team sports’ most important position.

“The hardest part, for sure, is the scarcity of really good quarterbacks,” Lurie said when asked about how the Eagles can maintain their current level of play despite an expected franchise quarterback contract, “and we got one, and we got a very special player and individual in that position.”

In 2021, Hurts played well in his first full season as the starter. But he struggled at times as a passer, particularly in the Eagles’ first-round playoff exit at Tampa Bay. He took a significant leap forward in his third season, though, finished second in MVP voting and nearly outdueled Patrick Mahomes in the Eagles’ 38-35 Super Bowl loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

When talking about the importance of the quarterback position and how the league has increasingly stressed keeping them safe, Lurie included Hurts among the game’s top passers along with Mahomes, Buffalo’s Josh Allen and Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow.

“I’ve always said … quarterback, GM, coach, facility, stadium, scouting, those are the keys,” Lurie said. “Once you can find it, that’s when you’re really excited. We’ll be working with Jalen I’m sure for a long time.”

Kelly green returning

Lurie didn’t have specifics on which game the Eagles will wear the classic kelly green uniforms this season because the NFL has yet to announce the schedule for the coming season. But the team is expected to have a formal announcement sometime after the release in May and events will be planned for before and during the game.

“This is the season we’ll reintroduce the classic kelly green and I’m super excited,” Lurie said. “I don’t know what date that’s going to be, but I think fans will love it. It’s why we’re bringing it back. We really took the feedback seriously over the years. The first moment we could get the kelly green helmet approved, we’ll finally be able to see it on the field.”