This hasn’t been the Eagles team that Jalen Hurts was expecting during those humid training camp days in July and August. Injuries have taken A.J. Brown away for two straight games and on Sunday when the Eagles play their second straight road game, this one in Tampa, they will likely be without DeVonta Smith and probably Brown again.
Neither receiver went through the team’s walkthrough on Wednesday.
One of Hurts’ favorite receivers not named Brown or Smith played just seven snaps before a broken bone in his shoulder sent him to injured reserve. That, of course, is Britain Covey.
“I think there’s been a ton of different opportunities to learn throughout the season so far,” said the quarterback. “It feels like it’s been longer than what it’s been, but we spend a lot of time up here grinding, trying to get on the same page with different things from player to coach and coach to player and player to player.
“It’s just been so many great things to learn from in these first few games. I think there have been different situations that have come up, different nuances of the game that we have to be mindful of that have come up and we’ve had to learn from them.”
Brown and Smith didn’t miss a game the past seasons, so, yeah, there have been opportunities for others to the point where Hurts said he looked around the huddle in New Orleans and had to do a double-take.
“I think it was a funny moment to me, and I wouldn’t have acknowledged it in the huddle, but in the huddle, I looked one time, and I saw so many different faces, but the game goes on,” he said. “It’s truly a next man up mentality, and that’s a testament to the work everybody puts in in this building.”
With so many new faces, Hurts said he can’t quite pinpoint this team’s identity, but In a way that may prove to be a good thing in the long run.
Before injuries happened, Brown had played in 34 straight regular-season games while Smith had played in 33 of 34. Being forced to play without them will force the Eagles to develop other players.
“I think about the identity of this football team we have and I can’t tell you what that is because we haven’t had our nucleus together to really go out there and create that,” said Hurts. “The beautiful thing is everybody has opportunities in these moments, and as you see last week what opportunity the guys had and stepped up. Regardless of what it looks like, we just want to play team football, play together, and find ways to win.”
Finding a win with the likelihood that both Brown and Smith won’t play Sunday won’t be easy. Again, though finding a way without some of the team’s best players could be a good thing in the long-term.
“It’s a great opportunity to continue to press the point of taking steps, not being repeat offenders in certain instances and continue to grow, grow situationally with our fundamentals, our process in certain moments and everybody being on the same page,” said Hurts. “Just growing. Obviously, there’s a ton of opportunity there, but we have to ultimately do it together. And I’m not afraid to lead in that.”
