Carson Wentz could influence Howie Roseman and the Eagles’ contract negotiations with Jalen Hurts

The Eagles administrators aren't likely to forget how badly they were burned on a big quarterback contract in the past, but they're also motivated to get the deal done.

Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts against the Kansas City Chiefs during Super Bowl LVII.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer

by Jeff McLane

Published March 28, 2023, 5:00 a.m. ET

PHOENIX – Howie Roseman was correct when he pointed out that Carson Wentz and the offense played a significant role in the Eagles’ dreadful 2020 season.

The general manager was responding to a question on Monday at the NFL owners meetings about learning from the lessons of the three-year slide following the Super Bowl, especially as it relates to bringing back older players.

“First of all, we did go to the playoffs and won the division, so it wasn’t like we were a total [bleep]show,” Roseman said, referencing the 2018-19 seasons. “Maybe that’s the perception. We had one terrible year. But I think also the important thing is you need high-level quarterback play.

“And at the end of the day, 2020 wasn’t a great season offensively for us.”

Roseman has alluded to Wentz’s historic regression on previous occasions. While some may hyperbolize what was in essence an obvious statement, the more important takeaway from the assessment was whether the general manager realized the role he had played in the quarterback’s fall from grace?

Which brings us to Jalen Hurts, the Eagles on the verge of handing out another franchise-altering extension, and if Roseman can continue to maintain his team’s championship-level of play while also accounting for the salary cap constraints from the quarterback’s new contract.

At this point, it’s not a matter of if, but when Hurts gets an extension. Roseman declined to say whether negotiations have started, or to offer much in terms of specifics, but his intentions have been clear since the Eagles lost to the Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII and Hurts had arguably his best NFL game here last month.

“It’s fair to say that Jalen’s in the last year of his deal. We want him here long term and that’s going to be a priority,” Roseman said. “And so, when we’re looking at this free agency period, we know the dynamics of our cap are going to have to change at some point.

“So we just can’t do that at that point. We have to look into team building, not only this year, but into 2024 and 2025.”

The Eagles of this offseason aren’t exactly in the same boat as the team that won the title five years ago. They had significantly more free agents – 20 of them – and retained only five. Four – center Jason Kelce, defensive end Brandon Graham, defensive tackle Fletcher Cox and cornerback James Bradberry – will be over 30 by the season opener.

Roseman also extended two more over-30 players: tackle Lane Johnson and cornerback Darius Slay.

Taken individually, it’s difficult to argue with his decisions. But is there a greater risk with guaranteeing so much of the future on vets closer to retirement than the draft? Roseman has admitted before that he can sometimes be too loyal to homegrown or in-house players.

Some of that loyalty, in the form of extensions, stemmed from wanting to capitalize on the Super Bowl LII run. The Eagles rolled it back one too many times with Jason Peters, Darren Sproles and a few others.

Wentz didn’t receive his extension until the 2019 offseason. Even though he was coming off his second straight season-ending injury, few argued against Roseman’s choice to lock up the former first rounder three years into his NFL career.

There were signs that Wentz was more the quarterback he’s been since 2017 than the one who nearly won an MVP that season. But his four-year, $128 million extension that included nearly $70 million guaranteed wasn’t some crippling deal that had the Eagles in cap jail.

Roseman still had room to sign free agents. He was still his usual inventive self in terms of the trade market. But gambles on over-30 guys like DeSean Jackson and Malik Jackson, who spent more time injured than playing, and Michael Bennett, who wasn’t a culture fit, contributed to the decline.

As did first round misses – tackle Andre Dillard and wide receiver Jalen Reagor – in the 2019-20 drafts. The latter selection had the greater impact on Wentz’s 2020 nosedive. But it wasn’t as if he had significantly better receivers – e.g. Alshon Jeffery, Nelson Agholor – in previous seasons.

Roseman’s major moves at the position since have been first round blockbusters – drafting DeVonta Smith in 2021 and trading for A.J. Brown in 2022. Those hits along with the GM’s continued investment in the offensive line had almost as much to do with Hurts’ breakout last season as anything.

The majority of the offense returns, but the Eagles lost five starters on defense, the most notable being the two-years-younger-than-Cox defensive tackle Javon Hargrave and 25-year-old safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson.

“Our whole roster building is going to kind of turn a little bit here from a quarterback on a rookie deal to hopefully a quarterback on a long-term deal,” Roseman said. “Not that we have anything done or anything, but obviously that’s our goal – to keep Jalen here for a long time. And so, at some point you run out of resources.”

Roseman’s last two drafts have allowed him to stock the roster with cost-effective talent, but the jury is still out on a number of the prospects. The next two will be as important as he looks to build for the long-term with Hurts’ contract likely to inflate after this season.

So what’s the hold-up? Roseman said that not having Hurts’ deal done didn’t adversely affect how he approached free agency. He would obviously like to be first out of the gate with other top young quarterbacks eligible for extensions – see: Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert and Lamar Jackson.

But Hurts was a 2020 second-rounder unlike the first two, and thus has a little more leverage because he has only one year left on his deal. The Bengals and Chargers have fifth-year options on first rounders Burrow and Herbert.

“I think you have to navigate the offseason understanding that we’re not going to lose our franchise quarterback with one year left on his deal,” Roseman said. “Whatever that means it’s going to mean that 2024 is going to look different.

“We’re not going to have a quarterback under a rookie deal and obviously, not that we’re talking about [franchise or transition] tags or anything like that – that’s not our goal there – we’re going into it with our eyes open and understanding that we got to kind of flip it.”

There are a lot of Ts to cross and Is to dot on a franchise quarterback contract, but the basic parameters seem set. Hurts will get somewhere in the range of $50 million a year. Of question is the length and the guarantee.

If he wants a shorter deal with a full guarantee, there could be an impasse. But Hurts may be inclined to agree to a contract that is structured to allow Roseman some flexibility to offer second contracts to budding stars like Smith, and to stay competitive in free agency.

There’s no reason to suggest that discussions between the Eagles and Hurts’ agent Nicole Lynn haven’t been done in good faith. The quarterback has continued his workouts at the NovaCare Complex this offseason. But when asked about an extension last month, he took a pass.

“Yeah, I think he wants to be an Eagle,” Roseman said, “and obviously we’re going to try and do something that makes sense for his side and our side.”

As far as a timeline, Roseman said he hoped an agreement could be struck “relatively soon.” Wentz signed his extension in June. The Eagles didn’t lock up Michael Vick, eight years prior, until August.

Neither of those deals ultimately provided the dividends the team had hoped for. There were many factors in their declines and that of those Eagles. Roseman had a hand. But his ability to rebound from failures – especially after trading Wentz and enduring the largest dead money cap hit in league history – has been perhaps his greatest attribute.

A Hurts extension could present greater challenges because of its sheer size. But your best chance to win Super Bowls comes with having an elite quarterback. And the Eagles appear to have one.