It's safe to say the Eagles have found their franchise Quarterback.
The Eagles 2nd round pick in 2020 turned into the future of the franchise.
Now 19-11 as a starter. Hurts took over in 2020 and went 1-3 as the Eagles walked themselves into DeVonta Smith. Since the end of the 2020 season, Hurts has gone 18-8.
Now, with the final year of his rookie contract approaching next year. The Eagles are going to have to make an expensive decision. Spotrac already has Jalen Hurts at a projected 45.4M average salary. Will a potential Division Champion and 1st Seed raise that price?
Comparable Quarterbacks
The NFL has seen an influx of mobile Quarterbacks in recent years. From Russell Wilson, to Lamar Jackson & Josh Allen. Let's compare some stats, and the eventual money these quarterbacks received.
Josh Allen
Comparing Allen to Hurts 'rookie' and starting seasons are extremely similar, although under different circumstances - the numbers are as follows:
2018 Allen: 11 Starts, 2074 Yards, 52.8% Comp, 10 TD, 12 INT, 631 Rush Yards, 8 Rush TD
2020 Hurts: 5 Games, 1061 Yards, 52% Comp, 6 TD, 4 INT, 354 Rush Yards, 3 Rush TD
When you jump to the Quarterbacks first full seasons, the numbers become:
2019 Allen: 16 Starts, 3089 Yards, 58.8% Comp, 20 TD, 9 INT, 510 Rush Yards, 9 Rush TD
2021 Hurts: 15 Starts, 3144 Yards, 61.3% Comp, 16 TD, 9 INT, 784 Rush Yards, 10 Rush TD
However, Allen's 2019 season was his 2nd year with Sean McDermott and Brian Daboll. Hurts had yet to have consistent coaching staffs since his high school days. We saw what Allen's progression was in year 2, and now we're looking at Hurts as the year goes on.
Josh Allen's award resume consists of, an 8% 2020 MVP vote, 4th place OPoY, All-Pro 2nd team and 1 Pro Bowl.
After 2 seasons of 4400+ Yards, 36+ Touchdowns and 10+ Interceptions. The Bills signed Allen to a 6 year, $258M contract. Coming in at $43M per season, Josh Allen is currently the 6th highest paid QB. At the start of the year, Josh Allen was penciled as the MVP front runner for the season. While the Bills started 6-1, they've gone 2-2 in their last 4 games. During that stretch, Allen has thrown 2 red zone and 2 end zone interceptions. Plus lets not forget about the QB Sneak Fumble from their own Endzone. The expected MVP has played himself out of the conversation.
Here's how these QB's compare through 11 Games.
2022 Allen: 3183 Yards, 63.9% Comp, 23 Pass TD, 11 INT, 561 Rush Yards, 5 RushTD
2022 Hurts: 2560 Yards, 67.3% Comp, 17 Pass TD, 3 INT, 597 Rush Yards, 8 Rush TD
Kyler Murray
Murray was able to play all 16 games in his rookie season, so let's extrapolate the last 5 games of the Hurts rookie season. Where he saw action at the 2nd half of the Packers game, and the opening of the Washington game. Another mobile QB able to keep the play alive with his legs. While Murray has had less success than Allen has, the numbers are still comparable in terms of contract.
2019 Murray: 3722 Yards, 64.4% Comp, 20 TD, 12 INT, 544 Rush Yards, 4 Rush TD
2020 Hurts*: 3289 Yards, 48.35% Comp, 19 TD, 13 INT, 963 Rush Yards, 9 Rush TD
Next we'll compare the quarterbacks Sophomore seasons.
2020 Murray: 3971 Yards, 67.2% Comp, 26 TD, 12 INT, 819 Rush Yards, 11 Rush TD
2021 Hurts: 3144 Yards, 61.3% Comp, 16 TD, 9 INT, 784 Rush Yards, 10 Rush TD
Pretty similar years between these two. The biggest help to Kyler Murray's 2020 campaign was the addition of DeAndre Hopkins, while still having Larry Fitzgerald and Christian Kirk as his receivers.
At the start of this season. Kyler Murray signed a 46.1M Contract that will see him an Arizona Cardinal until 2028. This also puts Murray as the 3rd highest paid Quarterback. In his almost 4 full seasons with the Cardinals. Murray has a 25-30-1 record. Sure he got voted Rookie of the Year in 2019. The Cardinals also went 5-10-1 that season.
While the Cardinals haven't done anything impressive while Murray's been under center. They have caused a lot of hubbub in the news. We all remember the week Kyler Murray got roasted online because of an "Independent Study" clause being in his contract. I'm sure the clause was intended for Kyler Murray to beat the allegations of his Call of Duty playtime dragging down his on-field performances. Unfortunately for Kyler, Reddit user u/NegativeBee did the math at the start of the year. While Kyler missed 2 games after the release of this years rendition of Modern Warfare 2. He has yet to win a game.
Here's how the QBs look in comparison this year.
2022 Murray: 2359 Yards, 66.3% Comp, 14 Pass TD, 7 INT, 415 Rush Yards, 3 Rush TD
2022 Hurts: 2560 Yards, 67.3% Comp, 17 Pass TD, 3 INT, 597 Rush Yards, 8 Rush TD
Dak Prescott
You knew it was coming. The NFC East rivals quarterback.
Dak went crazy in his rookie season. The best record the Cowboys have had during his 7 year career.
2016 Dak: 3667 Yards, 67.8% Comp, 23 Pass TD, 4 INT, 282 Rush Yards, 6 Rush TD
Fortunately for Eagles fans, the Cowboys window is slowly closing, since the Cowboys decided to franchise tag him afterthe 'peak' of his career that saw him win 8 games and miss the playoffs. Dak's 4 year, $40M annual will see him in Dallas until 2025. For contract purposes, we'll look at Prescott's 2019 season, but also because he was injured for the majority of his Franchise Tag season in 2020.
2019 Dak: 4902 Yards, 65.1% Comp, 30 Pass TD, 11 INT, 277 Rush Yards, 2 Rush TD
2021 Hurts: 3144 Yards, 61.3% Comp, 16 TD, 9 INT, 784 Rush Yards, 10 Rush TD
Prescott had another injury this season. Making the stats for this year quite skewed as well when looking to compare. However the Cowboys didn't struggle with Cooper Rush at QB. Which makes the Cowboys quarterback room a little more interesting.
Now Or Later?
The Eagles have 20 contracts expiring at the end of this year. They probably won't be re-signing guys such as Ndamukong Suh and Linval Joseph. But big names like Gardner-Johnson and Javon Hargrave will probably see some priority this off-season. Jalen Hurts might still have all of 2023's season to worry about Howie the Cap Wizard finding a deal suitable for both parties, but that monster deal for the future of the Eagles might need to come sooner than later.
When looking at Hurts numbers compared to Allen, Murray and Prescott. Is the 45.4M yearly salary a justifiable number?
Let's hear what you think.
Go Birds!
Photo Credit: Matt Rourke/AP Photo
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