New Eagles Head Coach Nick Sirianni Refuses to Name Jalen Hurts Starter, Opens Door For Joe Flacco

The Philadelphia Eagles are attempting to move forward in 2021 after a catastrophe of a 2020 season in which they failed to win the worst division in football, fired the head coach who brought them their first Super Bowl win, and traded their franchise quarterback for two measly draft picks at the cost of a monumental cap penalty. I kind of forgot how bad it was until I typed that all out, to be honest with you. Quite literally the worst-case scenario for a team that had championship hopes as recently as 2019.

One bright spot was the emergence of second-round pick Jalen Hurts as a good young quarterback with potential to become the team's next longtime signal-caller. The body of work is still too small to say definitively whether Hurts will capitalize on that potential, but there's reason for optimism. Nick Sirianni, now the head coach of the Eagles after Doug Pederson's departure, has taken it slow and cautious in his few media appearances after getting hired. It's his first HC gig and he's already spewing out coach-speak like a seasoned veteran.

Sirianni did just that again today, but created headlines in the process because he declared the starting QB position will be an open competition. Like every other position because he hasn't had a chance to evaluate everyone in person yet. A very reasonable stance to take and one that certainly will not cause a hubbub.

If you, like me, are not part of the Eagles faithful, you had no idea who would be facing off against Hurts in said QB competition. Would it be Nate Sudfeld, who might've been the catalyst for Pederson's pink slip after the coach took Hurts out of a very winnable Week 17 game and put Sudfeld in instead? No, because Sudfeld signed with the 49ers earlier this offseason. Who, then, would be Hurts' competition?

That's right. It's Joe Flacco. Lord Pretty Flacco Joyde. Myth and legend of the Baltimore Ravens. He who caught fire for one fateful postseason and earned a ring and enough money for several lifetimes and then promptly did nothing with his career.

Obviously Flacco isn't going to steal the starting job from Hurts. He was in New York with the Jets last season and was as bad as everyone else on that team when he stepped in for Sam Darnold at various points last year. But it is kind of funny that he is the only other quarterback on the roster right now.

Philly will probably pick a quarterback later in the draft as insurance, so it won't just be Hurts v. Flacco, battle of the century. But as of now there exists a universe where the Eagles go from starting Carson Wentz to Joe Freaking Flacco in the span of one season. That's a universe I'd like to live in.