The Eagles' top decision makers haven't been eager to crown Jalen Hurts the quarterback of the future, despite there being no competition on the roster and there being very little downside to endorsing the 23-year-old considering his bargain bin contract. Nick Sirianni hasn't yet named Hurts the definitive Week 1 starter, and buzz remains around Howie Roseman's interest in a Deshaun Watson deal.
But as training camp rolls on, and the Eagles finish up their joint practices against Bill Belichick's Patriots, one thing seems to be getting clearer and clearer: if not the front office, Hurts definitely has the support of his teammates.
Because this week has been nothing but a stream of positive reports coming from national NFL reporters, starting with ESPN's Jordan Schultz...
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...and continuing with FOX Sports' Jay Glazer...
...and then continuing again Wednesday morning when ESPN's Adam Schefter appeared on 97.5 The Fanatic's The John Kincade Show to talk about the Eagles:
"People have been impressed, and people like him.
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"His teammates do believe in him, and we'll now see what he can go out and do. He's an impressive young guy, and a talented individual.
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"I can tell you this, they all believe in him, the players do."
Hmm. Sensing a theme here? "Captured the entire locker room." "He’s winning those guys over." "They all believe in him."
It sure sounds like, no matter what the Eagles' long-term plans are at QB, the players in the short-term are all fully in on the Hurts experience.
Which is a great sign for a team that suddenly has a dark horse-type feel in an underwhelming NFC East.
With Dak Prescott battling a nagging shoulder injury, Ryan Fitzpatrick historically inconsistent, and the Giants still quarterbacked by Daniel Jones, all Hurts really needs to do is take care of the ball and be efficient this year for the Eagles to stick around in the division race.
It's much easier to lead a team when you've got full buy-in from your locker room, and Hurts seems to be on that path. Perfect.
Does a playoff appearance help a team that is decidedly not a contender? Eh, not really. But it also can't drastically hurt them, either, and rooting for the playoffs is always more fun than rooting for a draft spot.
Hurts still needs to execute, and while his preseason debut was encouraging, it wasn't perfect. But right now all signs seem to be pointing up for the second-year QB, and that should be music to Eagles fans' ears.
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