The Philadelphia Eagles made the obvious official: Jalen Hurts is the starting quarterback.
Coach Nick Sirianni made the announcement Tuesday, noting that Hurts took all the first-team reps during training camp.
"Really, nobody else got any reps with the ones," the first-time head coach said. "And, Jalen's known, 'Hey, nobody else has gotten any reps with the ones but me.' And Jalen's our starter. And he's done a great job. We wanted him to take advantage of the opportunity and take the reins with the advantage of the opportunity that he got and we feel like the preseason that he had, he did that."
Hurts has been the expected QB1 since the Eagles shipped Carson Wentz to Indianapolis back in February. Sticking to his mantra of competition at every position, however, Sirianni declined to name the second-year quarterback the Week 1 starter until today.
"I consistently saw a player that got better every single day," Sirianni said. "I consistently saw a player make the read, you know, getting better with his reads and his accuracy and his ability to run - and when not to run. He did exactly what we wanted him to do. Again, nobody else has worked with the ones, so you could you really argue we named a starter a while ago. But, Jalen will be our starter, and he's earned that right with a great preseason, and we got a lot of confidence in him and that room in general."
The 23-year-old started four games for Philly as a rookie, tossing for 1,061 yards and six touchdowns with four interceptions. He also rushed 63 times for 354 yards and three additional scores. Hurts missed the team's second preseason game due to an illness and didn't participate in the preseason finale.
A dual threat, Hurts needs reps and seasoning to prove he's the long-term answer under center. He'll get that as he leads the Eagles beginning Week 1.
After coming over in a trade from Jacksonville, newly acquired quarterback Gardner Minshew will begin his tenure as the team's No. 3 QB.
Veteran signal-caller Joe Flacco remains Hurts' backup.
"The world saw what Joe Flacco did in the third preseason game," Sirianni said of the 36-year-old's 188-yard, 2-TD performance against the New York Jets over the weekend.
