Eagles Storylines Not Worth An Overreaction: Jalen Hurts, No A.J. Brown, Rookies

There are still 29 days until the Eagles take the field for their first training camp practice together on July 29, but until then, don't sweat these storylines.

Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts participates in the bike ride at the team's recent Eagles Autism Foundation event. | Philadelphia Eagles

Five storylines you shouldn’t overreact to when it comes to the Eagles.

Oh no, no A.J. Many think the Eagles will be worse off without A.J. Brown, though don’t count me in that camp. The offense will run more smoothly, and how nice will it be – for his former teammates - not to have to listen to Brown chirping about the offense?

Former three-time Pro Bowl cornerback DeAngelo Hall was on a podcast called Hard Rock Bet – a random former player, I get it, but he hit the nail on the head with the answer to a question about the status of the Eagles with Brown traded to the Patriots.

“Distractions just take the focus off of football and winning games, and this caused a ton of distractions in the Philadelphia Eagles locker room,” he said.

Nobody inside that room will admit it publicly, but not everybody was happy with Brown’s pettiness.

“Even when they won games, there was always talk about Brown’s stats and whether he got enough targets,” Hall continued. “There was always something. So, now they can wash their hands, and there’s no more Jalen (Hurts) versus A.J. talk. That offense is going to be able to flow a little bit smoother than it did last season, and they can put the focus back on winning football games. Sometimes it can be good for both sides to just have a clean break and go their separate ways.”

Hall talked on a variety of topics. Here is the link to see what he said.

QB concerns. It’s SPRING, people. That didn’t stop some from criticizing Jalen Hurts’ perceived uneven OTAs and minicamp. It’s crazy that the face of the franchise is expected to be Tom Brady while early in the learning process of a new offense. All the quarterback does is win – and win against some of the best quarterbacks in the league. The feeling here is that he will figure it out as training camp moves along and keep winning.

Makai Lemon Will Be Heard From This Season

Eagles WR Makai Lemon at minicamp. | John McMullen/Eagles On SI

Rookies. Like Hurts, there seemed to be a lot of angst over a rookie class that didn’t do much to stand out in the spring. First-round receiver Makai Lemon was mostly a non-participant as he battled a hamstring injury, and second-round tight end Eli Stowers was basically invisible as he adjusted to the pro game and his blocking. Quarterback Cole Payton looked overmatched, Cole Wisniewski didn’t participate in team drills due to an injury, and, well, so on and so on.

Again, it’s SPRING. Lemon, Stowers, and Markel Bell will be just fine. We’ll see about the rest as August ramps up.

JC contract. If Jalen Carter’s troublesome shoulders are deemed sound and the maturity issues are laid to rest, a contract extension will come. Carter is a great defensive tackle, and Howie Roseman is on record saying, “It’s hard to find great players in the NFL.”

The GM said that when he was talking about A.J. Brown early in the offseason.

“I think that when you're trying to be a great team, it's hard to trade great players,” he said then.

Safeties. It’s pretty simple. If the Eagles feel they have enough at that spot, with Marcus Epps, Drew Mukuba, Michael Carter, Andre Sam, and Cole Wisniewksi, then they will ride with that. If not, Roseman will find an August trade partner. Either way, it’s nothing to worry about as July begins.