PHILADELPHIA – New Philadelphia Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said he “can’t answer” whether quarterback Carson Wentz will be part of the team in 2021 as he is in the process of “evaluating everything.”
“What we need to do is evaluate the whole list,” Sirianni said at his press conference on Friday. “We have two quarterbacks at Carson Wentz and Jalen Hurts, who are top-tier quarterbacks. A lot of teams don’t have either. So we’re very happy to work with both of them.”
Sirianni added that he is not prepared to say whether there will be an open competition for the quarterback this offseason, and has not set a timeline for when he should choose his starter.
Wentz’s relationship with the organization was strained during the 2020 season in which he led the league in interceptions (15) and sacks (50) and qualified in favor of Hurts for the last four games. He planned to request an exchange this offseason due to a broken relationship with coach Doug Pederson, according to ESPN’s Chris Mortensen. Pederson was fired on Jan. 11 after he and owner Jeffrey Lurie failed to align with the vision of the advancing team.
Both Sirianni and offensive coordinator Shane Steichen spoke with Wentz last week. Sirianni said he could not talk about any issues between Wentz and the team, but that he had a “good conversation” with Wentz.
Sirianni has also spoken to Hurts, the team’s second-round pick in 2020, who sparked the offensive when he joined the lineup before cooling off a bit.
“The very conversation with him is that I am very excited to work with him,” Sirianni said. “We studied him last year, he had a good college tape. This year he played significant snapshots in which he played well.”
Still in the process of hiring assistant coaches and adapting to his new role, Sirianni said he and his staff have yet to delve into the game’s film, including the quarterbacks.
“All positions will be evaluated and all positions will be open,” he said, “and we can’t wait to start looking at the tape and see what our players can do.”