Eagles legend opens up about leadership of QB Jalen Hurts

Retired quarterback and Philadelphia Eagles legend Donovan McNabb recently spoke with Bob Brookover of NJ Advance Media for NJ.com about criticisms directed toward current Philadelphia starting signal-caller Jalen Hurts amid and after the club's collapse this season. 

"His personality is what you’ve got," McNabb said about Hurts. "I remember when he was first drafted and I said, 'Man, he’s the grown man in the room. He’s different.' I talked to his dad and his dad told me the same thing about Jalen. He’s different. He’s not the guy who is going to hang out with the guys and be rah, rah. He’s stoic. But I know he has fun, he cracks jokes and he’s a funny guy. He just doesn’t show that because he’s the one who needs to stay focused and zeroed in on his job." 

Hurts signed a five-year contract extension reportedly worth up to $255M with $179.3M guaranteed roughly two months after he and the Eagles endured a difficult 38-35 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII. 

While the 25-year-old was viewed by many as a legitimate Most Valuable Player candidate when Philadelphia jumped out to a 10-1 start to the 2023 season, questions about his leadership style and personality hovered over the club as it fell to 11-6 before its 32-9 wild-card playoff loss at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in January. 

"He understands the city and we’ve talked about it many times," McNabb said about how Hurts will react to being at least partially blamed by some for the downfall of the 2023 squad. "The expectations are high and the bar is high and that’s because he made it that way by getting to the Super Bowl last year. So they expect to see that every year. You make it to the second round of the playoffs and it’s like you had a losing season." 

Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio mentioned last month that the Eagles theoretically could try to move on from Hurts and his deal this offseason. 

Such a divorce seems unlikely, and McNabb would like to see the veteran of four NFL campaigns stay "healthy" and be "consistent" after Hurts played through a knee issue this past fall. 

"The defense has to be better," McNabb added about the Eagles. "I think offensively they have the pieces."