The Eagles made a surprise move on Sunday, promoting rookie quarterback Jalen Hurts to the No. 2 quarterback, dressing him against the Los Angeles Rams and sitting Nate Sudfeld.
At first, it seemed like the correct move to me. Hurts is better than Sudfeld. It is in some ways that simple. My issues with the decision to dress Hurts has nothing to do with Hurts as a player. The three plays he was on the field at the same time as Carson Wentz seemed to work.
But I have to be honest — watching how it played out on Sunday, I couldn't help but leave Lincoln Financial Field after another disastrous loss feeling the Eagles have mishandled Hurts and his playing time over the last two weeks.
Some thoughts on why:
** The timing of the decision to dress Hurts felt off. No, the Eagles can't make decisions by how the public will react, or how the public has been reacting throughout the week. The reality though is that, whether they want to admit it or not, dressing Hurts after Carson Wentz really struggled in Week 1 was some odd timing.
Imagine being Wentz and knowing that you are being heavily ripped for your performance against Washington. Maybe more than you ever have. You show up for practice last Wednesday and you see Hurts in the huddle with you. Then, on Sunday — when you are off to a rough start — you see Hurts come out onto the field.
Wentz will never say it publicly, but the timing of the decision to dress Hurts for the first time was simply not ideal.
*** Deny it all you want, but dressing Hurts is welcoming a quarterback controversy. Wentz is really struggling right now and is maybe in the worst stretch of his career. Wentz was a hit away from having Hurts go in. After going through what he did with Nick Foles, having Hurts dressed and on the sideline feels like a recipe for disaster for Wentz. Nate Sudfeld was a roadblock to that happening. The Eagles have decided to remove that block.
All of that was true the second the Eagles drafted Hurts. The fact they moved one step closer to that reality when they did was surprising.
*** If Hurts being in the game was something the Eagles felt was effective, and something they wanted in the offense, why wasn't he active in Week 1 vs. Washington? Hurts didn't do anything crazy vs. Los Angeles. He didn't even touch the ball. He was a decoy, something it is hard to imagine he wasn't prepared to do in Week 1.
*** Deciding to use Hurts in Week 2, but not the season opener, sure feels like a panic move. Was this the Eagles' big wrinkle coming off of a bad game? Adding in their backup quarterback as a decoy for a handful of plays? This was their big attempt to jump-start the offense? You have to wonder if the Eagles remained hot vs. Washington in Week 1, and scored in the 30s, if Hurts is on the field on Sunday. My guess is he is not.
*** Watching Hurts be forced onto the field as a gadget player was yet another reminder of how weird of a pick it was at the time. A player at almost any other position would have helped the Eagles more than Hurts did on Sunday.
The following remains true -- unless the Eagles eventual plan is to make Hurts the starting quarterback, the selection made no sense.
*** The bottom line is this — the fact the Eagles dressing Hurts caused some buzz around the league when it was announced really says a lot about where this team is at. It speaks to how badly their offense is playing. It speaks to how bland their offense has been. It speaks to how poorly Wentz is playing.
The Eagles have bigger issues than their plan with Hurts.
But on a day where nothing went right, it felt like Hurts' debut was mishandled as well.
You can reach Eliot Shorr-Parks on Twitter at @EliotShorrParks or email him at esp@94wip.com!
