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Report: Eagles name Jalen Hurts starting QB

After performing well in extended duty off the bench and providing a spark last week, Hurts was reportedly elevated over Carson Wentz for this week's game at New Orleans
John E. Hoover|
Report: Eagles name Jalen Hurts starting QB
Report: Eagles name Jalen Hurts starting QB

That didn’t take long.

Philadelphia Eagles coach Doug Peterson reportedly will make a change at quarterback, and now there’s another Lincoln Riley disciple starting in the NFL.

According to a tweet Tuesday from ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter, rookie Jalen Hurts will start for the Eagles this week at NFC-leading New Orleans (10-2).

Hurts — who played just one season under Riley at OU in 2019 after transferring from Alabama and finished runner-up for the Heisman Trophy — joins Heisman winners Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray as Riley’s Sooner quarterbacks who are now starting in the NFL.

"I have come to a decision and I am going to go with Jalen Hurts this week against New Orleans," Pederson said Tuesday, per Dave Spadaro of the team's official website. "We're not where we want to be as an offense. I looked at the whole thing and decided that for this week to look for that spark again to try to get the team over the hump, to try to get everybody playing better."

Philadelphia has scuffled to a 3-8-1 record with Carson Wentz as the starter.

Hurts was a second-round draft pick and it was widely presumed that he would be a change-of-pace option as Wentz, the former No. 2 overall pick, was coming off a four-year, $128 million contract extension.

But Wentz has been uneven throughout the season, and last week Hurts got his shot at playing full-time quarterback. He entered late in the third quarter, got 26 snaps and completed 5-of-12 passes for 109 yards and his first NFL touchdown pass, a 32-yard dart on fourth down.

Hurts showed in an extended role in Sunday's loss to Green Bay that he can elude pass rushers and manipulate the defense with his athletic ability (he rushed five times for 29 yards), and he showed his passing skills are capable of directing an NFL offense. On his touchdown pass, he avoided pressure, stepped up, rolled out and fired on target into the end zone. 

Teammates have also praised Hurts’ diligence, leadership and attention to detail.

“I think Jalen’s a good enough thrower to do well in that league,” Riley said. “And then obviously he brings a lot of other qualities — leadership and then certainly his athleticism and physicality in running the football that makes him tough to defend.”

Sunday wasn't all good for Hurts by any means. He had one fourth-quarter drive to tie the game, but went 0-for-2 and was sacked, then after the Packers extended the lead to 30-16, Hurts threw an interception.

“I’m excited for Jalen’s opportunity,” Riley said Monday. “I know he played pretty well (Sunday), and if he does get further opportunities, I know he’ll be ready.”

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John E. Hoover
JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.

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