‘Problematic’ Concern Piling up on Eagles QB Jalen Hurts: Reports
The Philadelphia Eagles own an NFC-best 8-2 record. But not all appears to be right with the team and its quarterback, Jalen Hurts.
Two different critical reports of Hurts have surfaced in the past few days. First, The Athletic’s Dianna Russini wrote Saturday some in the organization have “grown frustrated” with the quarterback.
While that report received criticism, it got some level of vindication from former Eagles linebacker Seth Joyner on Monday.
“I work with an Eagles’ insider, and we had an in-depth conversation last night on our postgame show, and it seems to him that there is some consternation when it comes to Jalen,” Joyner said on 94WIP Sports Radio. “Not only in the locker room, but in the organization, and that’s problematic because from the outside looking in, you would never think that.”
Eagles Growing Frustrated With QB Jalen Hurts?
It’s very well known that Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown is no longer happy in Philadelphia. But the real reasoning behind his unhappiness is not yet fully public.
Russini reported Saturday, though, that Brown’s discontent stems from his quarterback, and others in the organization share the receiver’s displeasure.
“After doing some digging and asking people inside the Eagles building, it was explained that multiple offensive players have grown frustrated with Jalen Hurts’ approach this season, particularly against zone coverage,” Russini wrote on November 15. “They believe he’s become hesitant in tight windows, leaning on checkdowns or scrambles instead of trusting what’s open downfield.”
Again, pundits pushed back on Russini’s report. There was irony to that because Russini herself made an argument for why Hurt’s cautious approach is working.
“At their bye week last season, the Eagles had the second-most turnovers in the NFL. Now, in their first season under offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo, they have committed the fewest turnovers in the league, and Hurts has thrown just one interception all season,” Russini added. “They’re also the best red zone team in football. As long as they get there, they figure they’re scoring touchdowns. It’s conservative, but it’s working … to a point.”
Hurts leads the NFL with a 0.4% interception percentage. He’s also averaging 199.5 passing yards per game, which is actually more than last year.
But the quarterback’s efficiency is down. He’s posted 7.4 yards per attempt and 11.1 yards per completion this season. In 2024, Hurts had a 8 yards per attempt and 11.7 yards per completion average.
That’s a clear indication that the quarterback is settling for short, safe passes far more often this season than last year.
Seth Joyner Details Reasons Behind Hurts Frustrations
It’s a tale as old as time — receivers unhappy over their number of targets or the amount of passes from their offense. But according to Joyner, the frustrations with Hurts run deeper.
It’s not just that the Eagles quarterback has been cautious; it’s also that he grows more passive on game days after certain downfield routes work in practice.
“There’s certain things and certain ways that he likes to run things and there are things that they run in practice that, you know, they get into a game and he goes off on his own tangent,” Joyner said, via SI on Eagles’ Patrick McAvoy.
“To me, that’s problematic.
“I have it on fact that the interception that he threw in the first Giants game when AJ was wide open that in practice, he threw that ball to AJ a few times. You get into the game and you’re not patient enough to wait for it and you throw the out route and it almost turns into a pick-six…He bears a lot of the responsibility.”
The Eagles are obviously the defending Super Bowl champions. But the 2023 collapse also remains fresh in the fan base’s mind, especially given the amount of issues that have been rumbling behind the surface with the 2025 team.
With that in mind, it will be interesting to see how the Eagles offense develops down the stretch. The team is winning with its cautious offensive approach, but the question is whether that will continue to be enough to win in December and January.
If it isn’t, a losing streak could force Hurts to begin pushing the ball downfield again.
Cowboys Cut Ties With Former 17-Game Starter
The Dallas Cowboys are continuing to shake up their defense in whatever ways they possibly can — trades, bringing back players from injuries or, now, even cutting lose former starters.
The Cowboys parted ways with former 17-game starter and inside linebacker Damone Clark on Tuesday, November 18, just one day after a 33-16 win over the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday Night Football in which the defense looked competent for the first time this season, and with Clark out of the lineup.
Clark was one of 3 players released by the Cowboys on November 18 along with center Wesley French and tight end John Stephens.
Clark was in his fifth season with the Cowboys, who drafted him in the fifth round (No. 176 overall) out of LSU in the 2022 NFL draft. He started 26 games in his time in Dallas, including all 17 regular-season games in 2023, when he had a career high 109 tackles.
Dallas head coach Brian Schottenheimer sent Clark away with an encouraging message, which was probably cold comfort for the 25-year-old free agent.
“I told him your career is just getting started,” Schottenheimer told Joseph Hoyt of The Dallas Morning News. “Sometimes change is good. I really believe that. It’s not bull (expletive) … he means a lot to me and this gives Damone a chance to find a new home.”
LB Additions Market Corrected Clark
The Cowboys had the 31st ranked defense in the NFL headed into Week 11 and you could make an argument that no position group on the entire roster was worse than inside linebacker.
All of that changed over the last few weeks, which ultimately led to Clark getting his walking papers.
First, the Cowboys traded a 2026 seventh round pick to the Cincinnati Bengals in exchange for inside linebacker Logan Wilson.
“A deal for Dallas: Cowboys are finalizing a trade to acquire Bengals MLB Logan Wilson, sources tell me and Todd Archer,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter wrote on his official X account on November 4. “Earlier Monday, Jerry Jones told Stephen A. Smith that the Cowboys have made a trade ahead of Tuesday’s NFL deadline. It is expected to be for Wilson, for whom the Bengals have been seeking a sixth-round pick. Wilson signed four-year $36 million extension in July 2023 that still has two years remaining on it after this season.”
Then, the Cowboys brought heralded inside linebacker DeMarvion Overshown off of injured reserve ahead of schedule. Overshown, who missed his entire rookie season in 2023 with a torn ACL, had a breakout season in 2024 before tearing his ACL, MCL and PCL in Week 14 against the Bengals.
Overshown wasn’t expected back until a Thanksgiving Day game against the Kansas City Chiefs. Instead he was on the field for the win over the Raiders, making 1 TFL loss in a limited amount of snaps.
With Kenneth Murray Jr., rookie Shemar James and Marist Liufau essentially a 3-headed inside linebacker at the third spot along Overshown and Wilson, the Cowboys now, suddenly, seem like they’re on solid ground.
Moving forward, don’t be surprised to see James take Murray’s spot as the starter alongside Wilson and Overshown.
