Jalen Hurts will be the starting quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles after the bye week. That is what head coach Nick Sirianni said after Gardner Minshew’s electrifying performance, so we have to take him at his word.
And rightfully so since Hurts has put the team in striking distance of the playoffs. However, the City of Brotherly Love is unforgiving and loves a good quarterback controversy. All the greats went through one, from Ron Jaworski through Donovan McNabb. Now the spotlight is on Minshew to possibly usurp Hurts following one fill-in start.
Slow the hype train, says one plugged-in reporter. NBC Sports’ Peter King recently chatted with Angelo Cataldi and The Morning Team on SportsRadio 94WIP to discuss the situation. King loves Minshew – the two did a Super Bowl event together – but he doesn’t see the mustachioed wonder as a guy ready to be a franchise starter.
“My feeling is I want to have him on my team. I’m not sure I want to hand him the reins of my franchise,” King told Cataldi. “Angelo, I think the biggest issue here is how much — if you think, if you still think that Jalen Hurts has a real chance to be your guy for long term, and I don’t know that anyone inside the Eagles thinks that, maybe they do, I don’t know — but if you really think that, you’re really muddying the waters by giving Minshew a start or two when Jalen Hurts is healthy.”
#Jaguars QB Gardner Minshew answers questions tonight from NFL sports writing legend Peter King at Concrete Beach Brewery in Miami.
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Denver Broncos May Pursue Hurts
King was asked how long it takes to identify whether a guy has starter’s talent. He didn’t have an answer while citing that the Cleveland Browns still don’t know after 56 starts from Baker Mayfield. Ditto for the New York Giants after 37 starts from Daniel Jones.
Gardner Minshew now has 39 TD-11 INT in 21 career starts…
Comparing to some other young QBs..
Jalen Hurts: 19 TD-12 INT (16 Starts)
Daniel Jones: 45 TD-29 INT (37 Starts)
Sam Darnold: 52 TD-50 INT (47 Starts)
Hurts only 16 starts under his belt. If the Eagles aren’t sure, King mentioned trading him to the Denver Broncos.
“I think he’s had some really good days and some really disappointing days, but that’s what young quarterbacks always have in the NFL,” King said of Hurts. “I’m fascinated by Jalen Hurts. In fact, if I were like Denver kicking the can down the road for one more year at quarterback because I think maybe I can get Aaron Rodgers in free agency in 2023, that would be among the players I would pursue in the offseason if I were Denver — if Philadelphia has decided that he’s not quite their guy.”
Eagles Looking at Drafting Rookie QB?
The Eagles should have three first-round picks in the 2022 NFL draft, thanks to the Carson Wentz trade. The franchise will actually have nine total picks in the first five rounds, so the options are limitless. Especially if they wanted to roll the dice on a rookie quarterback.
According to King, the Eagles might have an interest in taking a new signal-caller late in the first round. Or maybe they go all-in and make a blockbuster trade for Deshaun Watson or Russell Wilson. King wrote the following in his “Football Morning in America” column:
In all, the Eagles will have nine picks in the first five rounds: three in the first, single picks in the second, third and fourth rounds, and three in the fifth. With quarterbacks not projected to be super-high in round one, the Eagles would likely be able to sit or maneuver slightly to draft one … or package three attractive picks to get a Deshaun Watson or to chase a Russell Wilson.
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NFL Insider on Eagles QB Shuffle: ‘Not Sure I Want to Hand Him The Reins’