Jalen Hurts is heading into Week 5 with the kind of pressure that can swallow a quarterback whole.
The Philadelphia Eagles are suddenly short-handed in all the wrong places. Tackle Lane Johnson has retired, center Cam Jurgens has been traded, and now Saquon Barkley and DeVonta Smith may both be unavailable for the upcoming matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars in London.
Barkley left last week’s loss to the Los Angeles Rams with a hamstring issue and did not practice Wednesday. Smith also sat out practice because of a hamstring injury that already kept him out against the Rams.
That leaves Hurts trying to steady an offense that just produced a rough outing from its quarterback. In the Week 4 loss, he went 12-for-27 for 93 yards.
Former Eagles defensive end Chris Long didn’t hide his skepticism when discussing Hurts on a recent episode of his Green Light Podcast. Long said he has yet to see Hurts perform without all-world talent around him and that he simply doesn’t think Hurts is as good as some believe.
It’s a familiar line of criticism. Hurts heard similar noise last year during his issues with wide receiver A.J. Brown, who showed clear displeasure with Hurts throughout the season and was traded back in June.
Now the excuses are right there if Hurts wants them. The Eagles are in rough shape, and the quarterback doesn’t have much help.
But the scrutiny has followed him for a reason. Critics have long labeled him a system quarterback, and Long’s comments fit neatly into that argument. Hurts won a Super Bowl two years ago, but the debate over whether he’s a true franchise quarterback hasn’t gone away.
That conversation has even gotten to the point where some were calling for Hurts to be benched last season, echoing the way he lost his job to Tua Tagovailoa in Tuscaloosa before transferring to Oklahoma.
His flaws have been laid out plainly: accuracy issues, not enough arm strength, and leadership traits that once stood out more than they do now.
Hurts is 28 and has two years left on the five-year, $255 million extension he signed with Philadelphia in April 2023. If this keeps up, the end of that deal may not be the sure thing it once looked like.
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