Howie Roseman has no concerns about new money changing Jalen Hurts and his effort

Eagles GM Howie Roseman and head coach Nick Sirianni spoke to reporters on Thursday, the first time since signing Jalen Hurts to the biggest contract in NFL history, and explained how getting it done early is beneficial, and why Jeffrey Lurie deserves a lot of credit for making it happen.

HOWIE ROSEMAN: “Really when I think about Jalen coming here, there are so many people that deserve a lot of credit for where we are right now. It starts with Jalen and his work ethic and his determination. From the first day we drafted him he had a vision of what kind of player he was going to be, and then just everyone who has been around him who’s rallied around him.

It’s a great story. We’re certainly not at the end of the story. I think we’re really at the beginning of the story.

Just really excited about doing this together with him and having him a part of this team and having that done in a way that really worked out well for both sides.”

Sirianni said he had nothing to do with the contract discussions, but joked that he obviously wanted to have Hurts in Philly long-term. The head coach talked about how he values the relationship he and the QB have built, and how he was excited to see Hurts get rewarded for what he’s done in Philly.

Roseman went on to point out that the deal was also done so quickly because of the blessing and trust by CEO Jeffrey Lurie, who was willing to do this kind of deal a year earlier than necessary.

HOWIE ROSEMAN: “You’re doing it a year early. You obviously have the tag. You have all these things at your disposal, and [Lurie] recognizing that this was the best thing to do for this team and this franchise. Just him doing that and him trusting us to do a deal that made sense on both sides, he deserves a tremendous amount of credit.”

Roseman also explained that part of the emphasis of getting this deal done now, was to have a more complete picture of their financial situation going into the draft. He noted that they were already planning for the inevitability of this kind of contract, and have a plan to build around Hurts. The QB and his agent, Nicole Lynn, understood the benefit of getting a deal done now and how it would affect the team building portion of the offseason — and offseasons to come.

HOWIE ROSEMAN: “I think for us, obviously we get a chance to plan and we get a chance to work around it and build around him and some of the guys that we have on long-term contracts, and that’s exciting. But we have to continue to do the right thing.”

When the terms of Hurts’ new deal were released, the cap hit over the next four years seem fairly manageable considering the incredible contract amount. Roseman credited Lurie’s willingness to provide the resources needed to have a competitive team, as well the rest of his team for working through these things.

HOWIE ROSEMAN: “Understanding the ramifications of what we’re doing. We’re not pulling the wool over the eyes of anyone, any players or Jeffrey when we explain what we’re doing here. We have a plan that doesn’t just last for this year or next year. We’re not trying to do anything where five or six years from now the Philadelphia Eagles won’t be able to compete.”

Even though the team made a huge investment in Hurts and his future with the team, Sirianni said that the QB isn’t making more to do less. They’ll continue to make sure they find ways to protect him, but they are going to utilize him and his talent the same way they did when he was on a rookie deal.