Hurts News Could Hurt Dolphins
There was some interesting news in the NFL on Monday morning with Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie making it clear to everyone in the organization he wants Jalen Hurts as his starting quarterback in 2021.
The news, reported by ESPN's Chris Mortensen, might have been welcome by Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa but certainly not by the organization as a whole.
Tagovailoa, of course, played with Hurts at the University of Alabama before Hurts finished his career at Oklahoma, and the two have a friendly relationship.
"Seeing him have the success there and later at Oklahoma, just seeing that growth and now he’s balling in the NFL, too," Tagovailoa told The Sporting News during one of his many recent national interviews. "I’m just really happy for him and wish him all the best.”
But from a business standpoint, Lurie's decree means you pretty much can scratch off the Eagles as a potential trade partner for the third overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft.
The allure of the pick is the opportunity to land one of the marquee quarterbacks in the draft, whether it be Zach Wilson, Justin Fields or even Trey Lance.
With Hurts declared the starter, the expectation is the Eagles will stay put at number 6 and take one of the high-profile wide receivers, such as Ja'Marr Chase from LSU or DeVonta Smith from Alabama.
While the Dolphins could still have suitors for that third pick, the absence of the Eagles means fewer bidders, and fewer bidders likely means a lesser return.
Looking at the teams picking from fourth to 12th, the Carolina Panthers at number 8 and the San Francisco 49ers at number 12 are two teams that very likely will be looking for a quarterback upgrade in the offseason.
And you might be able to add the Atlanta Falcons at number 4, the Detroit Lions at number 7 — yes, even after the trade for Jared Goff — and the Denver Broncos at number 9 as two other possibilities.
The Bengals at number 5 are set with Joe Burrow and the same goes with the Cowboys at number 10 because they're likely to hang on to pending free agent Dak Prescott and the Giants at number 11 are likely not ready to give up yet on Daniel Jones.
So there still should be some conversations headed the Dolphins' way when the third overall pick in the 2021 draft comes along, it just won't feature as many possibilities.
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Alain Poupart has covered the Miami Dolphins on a full-time basis since 1989 as an editor for Dolphin Digest, write for miamidolphins.com and now publisher of SI All Dolphins. You can follow him on Twitter at @apoupartFins.
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