PHILADELPHIA – There was a cool moment on Tuesday that, had you been there, would have been easy to miss if you blinked or an ill-timed bead of sweat rolled into your eye. It was, like, 1,000 degrees, after all, on the first day the Eagles put on full pads for practice.
It came when Jalen Hurts ran away from Jalyx Hunt, who was flying in from the quarterback's left and found plenty of green grass available. The run, from about 20 yards, ended in the end zone. Hurts flipped the ball to a young fan standing just off the field who was wearing a Kelly Green Hurts No. 1 jersey. The kid was ecstatic, though he didn’t get to keep the souvenir.
As for Hurts, well, he’s been running his whole career, and it’s a big part of his game. Will there come a time when it will not be? Someday, probably. Just not now. He will turn 27 in a week, on Aug. 7, and his legs are still strong. Of course, an injury could happen on one of his rushing flights, but they could happen in the pocket, too.
Among quarterbacks across the NFL, only the Ravens' Lamar Jackson has run the ball more over the past five years than Hurts. Jackson has 795 carries in that span to Hurts’ 674. Josh Allen had 471 carries since 2020.
Hurts was asked if he can maintain that pace continue to run the ball the way he has, especially the last three years when he’s been over 150 runs each of those seasons, despite playing just 15 games in two of those three seasons.
“It’s not about maintaining the pace, it’s about doing whatever it takes to win, and that’s something that evolves from year to year, so I’ll continue to have that approach,” he said.
As will his coaches, including new offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo.
“I think it's all situational, right?” said the OC. “So, when he wants the ball in his hands, he's going to do it and he's going to let us know. And then really it just comes down to if he needs to make a play and he knows he wants to, he's going to do it, right?
“So, whether it's just dropping back and scrambling and making a play with his legs, or if he feels like now's the time that I want to start running the ball, we will give him that opportunity.”
Nick Sirianni said that his approach with Hurts is the same as it is with Saquon Barkley, with both workloads being monitored during the time between regular-season games. It’s probably easier to do with Barkley, though, but Hurts is the quarterback and needs to practice.
“We'll continue to do the things that we need to do to win the games,” said the head coach. “…But we're always cautious of Jalen with the schemes that we run with him to try to keep him as safe as possible. Now, it's still football and there's still obviously a risk of injury at any time, but we're always thinking first and foremost when he carries the football, how do we keep that scheme safe to keep him out of harm's way?”
