Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie will 'always regret' not drafting QB Russell Wilson

While speaking at the NFL's annual meetings last week, Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie and head coach Nick Sirianni both offered public votes of confidence for quarterback Jalen Hurts. However, Lurie admitted he thinks about what could have been over the past decade or so. 

As Michael David Smith wrote for Pro Football Talk, the Eagles selected defensive tackle Fletcher Cox in the first round back in 2012 before they grabbed linebacker Mychal Kendricks and defensive end Vinny Curry in the second round assuming they could then wait and get quarterback Russell Wilson in the third round. However, the Seattle Seahawks swooped in for Wilson before the Eagles had an opportunity to choose him, and the rest, as the saying goes, is history. 

"(Wilson) is a player we didn’t get, and I’ll always regret it," Lurie recently explained, per Martin Frank of the Delaware News Journal. "It was someone I really wish we had drafted in the second round and didn’t wait. But we really didn’t think that anyone would jump us and take Russell, so that was that."

As Brandon Lee Gowton noted for Bleeding Green Nation, Jake Heaps of Seattle Sports 710 reported last month that the Eagles attempted to trade for Wilson "during the combine" but either couldn't convince the one-time Super Bowl champion to waive his no-trade clause for them or weren't given the chance to do so. Wilson also allegedly rejected a potential move to the Washington Commanders and ultimately ended up with the Denver Broncos. 

Philadelphia now will journey forward hoping Hurts has a breakout 2022 season and proves himself to be a future franchise player at the sport's most important position.