Eagles veterans show full support to Jalen Hurts as training camp nears

The more some things change, the more others stay the same. Stop us if that sounds familiar. The coming Philadelphia Eagles regular season is an 18-week, 17-game audition to determine if Jalen Hurts has what it takes to be a franchise quarterback in the NFL and man the controls of Philly’s offense going forward.

Yep. That was the same thing we were saying at this time last year. Here’s what we’ve learned. Games can be won with Hurts as your starting quarterback. There’s definitely something there.

At this point of his development, he’s a much more accomplished scrambler than a passer. There are other aspects of his game that you can hang your hat on though. If you go back to his days with the Alabama Crimson Tide and, eventually, his time with the Oklahoma Sooners and the Eagles, he’s never had the same offensive coaching staff for two consecutive seasons.

Despite that being the case, he’s improved each season. That’s pretty phenomenal if you think about it.

The 2022-2023 NFL campaign will finally get that monkey off his back. Nick Sirianni enters his second season as Eagles head coach. His staff remains intact. That includes offensive coordinator Shane Steichen, offensive line coach/running game coordinator Jeff Stoutland, passing game coordinator Kevin Patullo, and quarterbacks coach Brian Johnson whose known Hurts since he was a lad.

Something tells us this will lead to some positive fruit and another step forward.

Eagles veterans and former Birds continue to back Jalen Hurts and preach patience.

Questions have been asked about whether or not Jalen Hurts has what it takes. We’ve all seen some inconsistencies in his mechanics, his ability to read defenses and/or find the open receivers and hit them. We’ve gone back and forth about his arm talent. There are other areas where we’ve never questioned him.

No one has ever found any issue with Jalen Hurts’ maturity, his football IQ, or his approach to the game. He’s loved and backed by his teammates… every one of them… so much so that it sometimes feels like any decision the Eagles make to move on from him will cause an uprising or friction in the locker room.

We know how guys like DeVonta Smith and his best friend A.J. Brown feel about him. Make no mistake about it though. The veterans, team legends, and former Birds are pulling for him too. We’ve seen Donovan McNabb speak up for him. Before that, we’ve seen a Hall-of-Fame coach, Tony Dungy do the same thing.

Recently, everyone from Seth Joyner and Jason Kelce to Al Wallace, Barrett Brooks, and Lane Johnson do the same thing. Take a look.

At every turn, we’re beginning to hear that there’s a belief that Jalen Hurts’ star will burn brighter and brighter. The public has spoken. Check out a recent poll that was taken by the crew at NFL Network’s Good Morning Football.

The word that keeps coming to mind is ‘patience’. Fear not Eagles fans. A draft choice that we all had issue with when it was announced, Philly’s decision to select Jalen Hurts in Round 2 of the 2020 NFL Draft might wind up being one of the smartest moves that vice president/general manager Howie Roseman ever made. We just weren’t prepared for Howie to be right and for the rest of us to be wrong.