Through dual threat dazzlement, Jalen Hurts led the Philadelphia Eagles to a Super Bowl berth and himself to a massive new contract.
Don’t expect Hurts’ big five-year, $255 million payday to influence how he’s handled on the field, however.
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni made it known Thursday that while keeping Hurts healthy has and will continue to be paramount, he’s not going to rein in what’s made his quarterback a dynamic talent so far.
"Will we still think about how to protect him? Yeah, because that's our job to protect our quarterback. But Jalen does a lot of things really well, and we want to utilize the skills that he has so he can continue to play at a high level," Sirianni said, via team transcript. "You know, to me, we'll continue to go about our business the same way we went about our business. We'll always think about protecting him first, but we didn't pay him more to do less."
Hurts was a rock star in 2022, playing the hits whether he was throwing the ball or running it. He threw for 3,701 passing yards and 22 touchdowns, while adding 760 yards and 13 touchdowns rushing the rock. That's 35 total touchdowns for those counting at home, a season after he posted 26 total scores.
As Sirianni put it, he wasn't handling Hurts' health in cavalier fashion when he was on a rookie contract, so he's not suddenly going to change how the offense is run because his quarterback has a larger bank account, either.
"Here's what I definitely wasn't doing. Jalen is on a rookie contract. I'm just going to be reckless and do whatever we want with him. We were very careful," Sirianni said. "I know he's gotten injured, but we didn't pay him more to do less."
Hurts missed a pair of games last season with a shoulder injury and one the year before with an ankle ailment. So it's next door to certain that questions about how Hurts -- considering his propensity to run and his injury history -- is used will continue for as long as there's a crack in the Liberty Bell.
Sirianni's not looking to go the cautious route, but he does believe things will change -- for the better.
"Like I said, we're going to continue to do things," he said. "We'll have new wrinkles this year, obviously. We're going to find ways to do the things that we've done better. How we can coach them better. How we can get our guys in position to make the plays better. We'll grow on the scheme that we've had to maximize Jalen's ability.
"But make no mistakes about it. That's our job, right, to do those things. Jalen, the reason Jalen is in this position where he's signed this big contract is the fact that, I've said this a million times, nobody knows what Jalen Hurts' ceiling is. Why? Because he loves football. He's tough. He has high football IQ.
"So, the guys that have those things, and he's competitive. The guys that have those things tend to reach their ceiling. He's just going to continue to rise, so he's a big part of this, too, because no man suddenly becomes different than his cherished thoughts and habits. He's going to continue to do the things he's done to this date because that's who he is."
In 2022, it became clear the Eagles have one of the best quarterbacks in all the NFL world, and they're going to continue to use him in every which way that they can.