Curiously-timed ESPN report peels back the curtain on Eagles' dysfunction
New report focusing on Jalen Hurts feels engineered and brokered.
The Eagles do many things very well. Among those is their ability to play the media like a pigskin Stradivarius. Our biggest takeaway from Wednesday’s ESPN report that takes a close look at quarterback Jalen Hurts is this: Why now?
Specifically, why did the story drop at 6:00 a. m. ET on the morning after most of the league left the league meetings in Arizona?
It feels brokered. It feels engineered. The Eagles were willing to give up the goods on the frustrations created by Hurts's handling of the offense, as long as the story didn't drop at a time when it would have sparked a feeding frenzy at the NFL's annual gathering.
The gist of the report is hardly new. Chris Simms has been saying it for years, to the consternation of Eagles fans everywhere. And Derrick Gunn, who has covered the team for decades, pulled back the curtain during the 2025 season regarding Hurts's reputation for ignoring the plays that are called — and his awareness of his ability to do so, thanks to a contract that makes it very difficult from a cap standpoint to trade him or cut him.