Jimmy Garoppolo has entered the chat.
Jimmy G’s agents have been given permission to seek a trade, The Athletic reported today.
Some obvious destinations await the San Francisco quarterback— Seattle, Cleveland. Maybe the Giants? Maybe the Texans?
How about the Eagles?
How about *not* the Eagles?
If the Eagles want Jalen Hurts to be their quarterback this year, next year and beyond, the Birds should walk away from this temptation.
Don’t answer the phone. Don’t check your text messages. Don’t look on Twitter.
Ignore any correspondence from Garoppolo’s agents that will be coming your way. Don’t be swayed by Jimmy G’s movie-star looks and sparkly resume.
HAPPY WITH HURTS
Be happy with what you have — and what you have is plenty in Jalen Hurts.
Hurts will be 24 next month. This will be his second season as a full-time starter. We don’t know if he will improve on his hot-and-cold season from last year but we know he is the textbook definition of having an upside.
He is only going to get better.
With A.J. Brown split to the one side and DeVonta Smith to the other side, we think Hurts’ passing prowess will greatly improve.
IS HURTS THE LONG-TERM ANSWER?
I believe Hurts will be the starter in 2023 and beyond. The Eagles hope Hurts is the franchise guy for the next decade — the quarterback leading them to many playoff appearances, deep runs in the playoffs, and beyond.
We don’t know if he will be, and guess what, you don’t know, either.
I suspect Eagles fans are 50-50 on Hurts. And I think that might be generous.
Starting quarterbacks in Philadelphia have a very large target on their back. This quarterback’s target is even larger and it will be there until he makes that deep playoff run that someone is going to make.
Remember, Eagles fans weren’t always thrilled with Donovan McNabb, the best quarterback in franchise history.
We all remember the criticism — not accurate, not a leader, can’t win the big game, throws too many passes at receivers’ feet, something of an oddball (playing air guitar moments before a playoff game, among other things).
HURTS LEADING HIS TEAM
From all indications, Hurts is a tremendous leader, a guy who owns the locker room.
His development as an on-field quarterback is mixed, given that Derrick Gunn second-hand report on Hurts’ performance at an OTA — which was quickly refuted by Brown, by the way.
We don’t know if the report is accurate — remember, Gunn is an excellent reporter and not prone to hyperbole — but we know it gives the many doubters something to latch onto.
DON’T MESS WITH HURTS
Bringing in Garoppolo would be a direct threat to Hurts’ starting position and valued leadership role on the team.
The Eagles already have one of the NFL’s top back-up quarterbacks in Gardner Minshew. They wouldn’t trade for Garoppolo to be a back-up. Makes zero sense. Garoppolo doesn’t want to be a back-up now, anyway.
Bring in Garoppolo and you don’t know Hurts’ reaction. I think he would take on the challenge, but why would the Eagles do it? The Eagles, who open training camp next week, should be refining their roster and developing the team-first and team-only attitude they need.
It’s almost go time.
GAROPPOLO HAS THE NUMBERS
Garoppolo has a stronger quarterback bio than Hurts. He has good numbers. His record is 33-14. He has completed 67.7 percent of his passes for 11,852 yards. He has 72 touchdown passes and 38 interceptions.
Garoppolo has a 4-2 playoff record. His 49ers lost to the Rams, 20-17, in the NFC Championship Game last season. In 2019, he led the Niners to the Super Bowl, where they lost to Kansas City, 31-20.
Hurts’ record is 9-10. He has completed 59 percent of his passes for 4,205 yards. He has thrown 22 touchdowns but a disturbing 13 interceptions.
His magic sauce is his running game. Hurts has rushed for 1,138 yards and 13 touchdowns in two seasons.
BEWARE OF SHOULDER SURGERY
No doubt, Garoppolo is more accomplished than Hurts right now in the passing game.
Garoppolo also is 30 years old and coming off shoulder surgery — not a procedure a quarterback ever wants. That doesn’t mean he’s damaged goods; it means he’s a 30-year-old coming off shoulder surgery.
Buyer beware.
The Eagles had the entire offseason to move on from Hurts. They chose not to. They had two first-round draft picks and a general manager with a long history of rolling the dice in Howie Roseman.
The Eagles reportedly probed trade possibilities for Hurts in the offseason.
Still, they resisted.
If the Eagles believe in Hurts — and that’s the indication they’ve consistently made — they should act like it.
They’ve made moves in the offseason to help Hurts. Help him even more now by saying no to Jimmy G. It’s time to see what the Eagles have in their young quarterback.
Giving Hurts the keys to the franchise not only is the wise move, it’s the only move.
