Eagles players are encouraged by what they’ve seen from the team’s franchise QB.
Jalen Hurts knows what he did wrong in 2023. Knowing him, he probably went over his mistakes ad nauseam, critiquing every short pass, to every missed read. He also knows he could and should have been a better leader in 2023, especially during the Eagles’ 1-6 debacle.
What is encouraging, according to a multitude of sources in and around the team, is that Hurts is far more vocal and is putting his stamp on the 2024 Eagles.
In the past, Hurts, being an old soul with old-school values, deferred to the veterans. It is the way he was brought up, it is the way they operated at Alabama and Oklahoma. It is the path Hurts has followed as an Eagle. He did not think it was his right to speak up, out of deference to respected team captains Jason Kelce and Fletcher Cox.
With Kelce and Cox now gone, that voice now becomes him, the franchise quarterback and face of the franchise.
What is also solid is his relationship with Eagles’ head coach Nick Sirianni. There are no issues there, despite what has been blown out of proportion locally.
Everyone carried some weight in the Eagles’ collapse last season, from the players themselves quitting on late-season defensive coordinator replacement Matt Patricia and first-year offensive coordinator Brian Johnson, to Sirianni’s coaching bandwidth stretched so thin that he could not navigate through the swoon spilling out before his eyes, to Hurts’ reluctance to speak up, even though he had the backing of veterans and even some veterans imploring him to do so.
Hurts will not be, nor ever has been a rah-rah guy. He will not throw a faux smile for the cameras. He keeps his emotions tucked tight. He is not “an actor.” He will not dance for the media. He never has. He is very authentic. Signing the $255 million contract took him out of his routine last offseason. His accessibility to media, fans, teammates became limited. In fairness to Hurts, who is very guarded to begin with, his defensive walls went up even higher with the many open hands coming at him pulling him in various directions last offseason—striking on his popularity when his brand was hot.
This offseason, Hurts has been omnipresent. He has been more demonstrative. He has been far, far more accessible. In the weight room, he has made it a point to work out with various position groups, in there encouraging Saquon Barkley, encouraging everyone. He’s showing up at teammate’s functions that he previously did not.
His teammates have noticed.
Last week on The Rich Eisen Show, Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson said Hurts has, “gone out of his way to connect with his teammates. Just this offseason, he’s really done a good job of bonding with his teammates. I feel like the connection has definitely grown. A really big offseason. The work ethic has never been an issue. Tremendous worker. But, just becoming a more vocal leader and, whenever he speaks, guys listen up.”
“Every year is kind of a prove-it deal to everybody when you’re in that town. Jalen’s our guy moving forward. We love him, we respect him, and nobody puts in more work than he does.”
There is a strong feeling that if Giants linebacker Bobby Okereke came leaping over the line and smacked Hurts in the head, as he in the season finale with :58 left in the first quarter of the Eagles’ ugly 27-10 loss on January 7 on a “Brotherly Shove” play, Hurts’ teammates will make sure their quarterback is defended this time.
Joseph Santoliquito is a hall of fame, award-winning sportswriter based in the Philadelphia area who has written feature stories for SI.com, ESPN.com, NFL.com, MLB.com, Deadspin and The Philadelphia Inquirer/Daily News. In 2006, he was nominated for an Emmy Award for a special project piece for ESPN.com called “Love at First Beep.” He is most noted for his award-winning ESPN.com feature on high school wrestler A.J. Detwiler in February 2006, which appeared on SportsCenter. In 2015, he was elected president of the Boxing Writers Association of America.
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