Jason Kelce Defends Jalen Hurts' Comments on Added Responsibility In Eagles' Offense

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts stirred up some commotion when he described his new responsibilities on offense in the wake of former Eagles center Jason Kelce's retirement, but Kelce doesn't believe the criticism was necessary.

Kelce said on the latest episode of the New Heights podcast (58:00 mark) that he agreed with Hurts' comments and believes he's taking a necessary step in his career progression.

"There's a lot of media in Philadelphia that are blowing this into a negative assessment, like he's making an excuse or something like that," Kelce said. "I've shared this exact sentiment with Jalen. I think he's at the stage now in his career that he can take that next step forward and make a lot of these protection calls and things that I did for him early in his career when he was a young player."

Hurts said during a radio appearance that he will have more on his plate this year without Kelce anchoring Philadelphia's offensive line.

"We had a great player in Kelce who took on a lot of responsibility, and as a result of that I was told not to worry about a lot of things," he said during an appearance on 94.1 WIP (h/t ESPN's Tim McManus). "And so my eagerness to learn over the years kind of was halted because of who we had, but now times are different and I'm excited for that journey and this opportunity."

Kelce added that he believes Hurts is primed for a big year because he will have more control of the Eagles' offense.

"I think him taking on this as a responsibility is gonna accelerate his game across the board, and I think he's ready for it one, from a knowledge base, two, I think he's ready for it just by being a more experienced player," Kelce said. "He's gonna be more of a leader, he needs to be more of a leader and have more of this responsibility on him. So, I'm excited to see how this goes for him this year."