Carson Wentz is still expected to start for the Eagles on Monday night. But in front of a national audience, it sounds like we’re going to see more Jalen Hurts than ever before.
Hurts received first-team reps in practice this week, according to ESPN’s Tim McManus.
And against the Seahawks, Hurts is expected to receive increased playing time, which will include snaps when Wentz isn’t on the field, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
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Head coach Doug Pederson was asked on Saturday if Hurts had received more first-team reps during the week and was also asked about the possibility of Hurts taking a series or two.
“As far as the plays and the snaps, I mean, he hasn't gotten any more than he would get throughout the course of the week normally since we've been playing him,” Pederson said. “I’m not going to reveal any game plan plans with him at this time.”
The Eagles drafted Hurts in the second round (No. 53) out of Oklahoma in the spring. So far, he has been used mostly as a gadget player. He has played 31 total snaps this season and the most he’s played in any game was seven snaps against the Ravens. Last week against the Browns, Hurts played just one snap.
And an important note about Hurts’ snaps is that Wentz, to this point, has been on the field for all of them. For all of Wentz’s injury history, he actually hasn’t missed a snap this season.
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A couple weeks ago, Pederson was asked about the possibility of dialing up plays for Hurts without Wentz on the field to give him another offensive weapon.
“It's a great idea,” Pederson said. “Something we'll look into.”
During this season, here’s how Hurts’ 31 snaps break down by position:
QB: 21
WR: 6
RB: 2
Slot: 2
Despite those plays at quarterback, Hurts has thrown the ball just twice. He’s 2/2 for 27 yards.
This shift at quarterback speaks to the struggles we’ve seen from Wentz all season. Through 10 games, he has regressed to be one of the worst quarterbacks in the NFL. Despite flashes of his old self, Went has completed just 58.4% of his passes for 2,326 yards with 14 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.
After his performance last week against Cleveland, Pederson said he never thought about benching Wentz and said Wentz was going to be his starter the following week against the Seahawks. He looked shocked that there were even questions about it.
But then earlier this week, for whatever reason, Pederson hesitated to say Wentz was his starting quarterback for Monday night against the Seahawks. Eventually, Pederson confirmed that Wentz was still the Eagles’ starter.
“He's my starter,” Pederson said. “End of story.”
Although, now it appears there’s a little more to it.
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