Jalen Hurts Contract: Should Money Change Eagles QB Running Style?
The Philadelphia Eagles qualified for the Super Bowl in large part due to the do-everything heroics of their MVP-caliber quarterback Jalen Hurts, who entered the NFL viewed as a "running QB'' and is now after three seasons so much more than that.
Or ... with the big money coming ... should he sort of be "something less than that''?
Hurts, 24, is due a huge payday as his rookie deal is set to expire at the end of the 2023 season. And as the Eagles get set to write checks that figure to pay him, say, $45 million APY, the Eagles might harbor some concern that Hurts’ assertive running style - and/or the coaching staff's reliance on that style - presents too many risks.
Said James Palmer of NFL Network: “It’s the shoulder (injury at the end of 2022), and the ankle the year before, that leave some people to question, ‘If you’re going to give him this mega-deal that’s on the horizon, do you change the way Jalen Hurts plays the game?''
It's a smart question and it's a common one. In Buffalo, the Bills are absolutely trying to work with Josh Allen to curb his inspiringly bullish behavior.
And the Eagles?
Coach Nick Sirianni, Palmer said, is adamant about leaving well enough alone.
From Palmer: “He was in the MVP race,'' Sirianni said, "because of the duality of his game.'
"So they’re gonna let him play this way moving forward.”
We won't argue with success. Nor do we think some discretion is tied to the coming contract. But let's call this a "work in progress,'' because Hurts has developed so much as a thrower that he could be a perennial MVP candidate ... even with just the slightest change in how he protects himself.
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