New Philadelphia Eagles coach Nick Sirianni hinted Monday that the quarterback job will be an open competition between Carson Wentz and Jalen Hurts.
During an interview on SportsRadio 94WIP in Philadelphia, Sirianni said “yeah” when asked directly if Hurts and Wentz would compete for the job.
“Everybody in this situation competition — players, coaches, every position,” Sirianni said on the show.
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Sirianni didn’t stop there.
“A core value is competition,” Sirianni said. “That’s competition everywhere. Everybody is going to compete. I am going to compete with [offensive coordinator] Shane [Steichen] on things. We’re going to compete in the building with coaches. Competition is the core value that we’re going to use for every single position that we have here with the Philadelphia Eagles.”
Sirianni is already taking hits for his introductory press conference Friday. On that day, he said he “can’t answer” if Wentz would be back with the team and said the thought “hasn’t even crossed my mind” regarding naming a starter at QB.
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A Philadelphia Inquirer column that ran Sunday started with this line: “The Eagles fired Gomer Pyle so they could hire Barney Fife.” Later, it called Sirianni “Pinocchio” for saying he hadn’t thought about the QB situation yet. “It sounds even dumber than it sounds false,” wrote Inquirer columnist Marcus Hayes.
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Wentz, who was benched in favor of Hurts for the final four games of the 2020 season, completed just 57.4 percent of his pass attempts (251 of 437) for 2,620 yards and 16 touchdowns. He threw a league-leading 15 interceptions (tied with Denver’s Drew Lock) in 12 starts while averaging a career-low 218.3 passing yards per game. He also ran for five touchdowns.
Now 28, Wentz was the No. 2 overall pick by the Eagles in the 2016 NFL Draft. He signed a four-year, $128 million extension with the Eagles in June 2019.
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Hurts, 22, completed 52.0 percent of his passes (77 of 148) for 1,061 yards with six touchdowns and four interceptions. He also rushed 63 times for 354 yards with three scores.
“We’ve watched a little bit of tape to this point now,” Sirianni said Monday. “So we’re into that process of evaluating those players and I think we have really good talent evaluators.”
–Field Level Media