What did David Carr say about Jalen Hurts? Why NFL analyst thinks Eagles should start Marcus Mariota at QB

Edward Sutelan

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What did David Carr say about Jalen Hurts? Why NFL analyst thinks Eagles should start Marcus Mariota at QB image

Jalen Hurts is the fifth-highest paid player in the NFL and currently has the third-best odds to win the league's MVP in 2023. NFL Network analyst David Carr believes he should be riding the bench for a little bit.

During "NFL Total Access," Carr suggested backup Marcus Mariota should be starting over Jalen Hurts until the star quarterback can get fully healthy.

"Clearly, Jalen isn't comfortable reading through a defense in a drop-back pass scenario," Carr said. "Some would say he's not even good at it. And I think that when you look at this team, you have to have a serious conversation if you're Philly. And you have to really say, 'Is it better for us to play Marcus Mariota right now and let Jalen get fully healthy?'"

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Carr went on to say it does not matter if the Eagles finish with the top seed in the playoffs because it won't be important if San Francisco plays in Philadelphia for a second straight year. He said the conversation would focus on having a "big-picture mentality," and that Hurts would understand it's about the "end result," which is "getting to the Super Bowl and winning that thing."

Hurts briefly left Sunday's game with the 49ers to be evaluated for a concussion, and he's worn a knee brace at points during the year, potentially indicating a lingering knee injury. 

The Eagles, even after falling 42-19 at home to the 49ers, still have the best record in the NFL at 10-2, and end the year with games against the Cowboys, Seahawks, Giants, Cardinals and Giants, a schedule against which the Eagles will likely be favored in all games but the contest with Dallas.

Hurts has not played at the level that earned him a second-place finish in MVP voting in 2022. He has completed 66.5 percent of his passes (same as last year) and is averaging 7.4 yards per attempt (down 0.6 from last year). He's also already thrown 10 interceptions (four more than last year) and has a touchdown pass rate of 4.7 percent (down 0.1 percent from last year). He has carried the ball 121 times for 430 yards and scored 12 touchdowns, averaging 3.6 yards per attempt (down one yard from 2022).

But Mariota is almost certainly not any kind of answer for the Eagles. He had one of his better seasons in the NFL a year ago, completing 61.3 percent of his passes for 2,219 yards with 15 passing touchdowns and nine interceptions while rushing 85 times for 438 yards and four more scores in 13 games with the Falcons.

Carr was blasted for his take, with many in the NFL world calling out his analysis that Hurts had trouble reading the field.

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Edward Sutelan

Edward Sutelan Photo

Edward Sutelan joined The Sporting News in 2021 after covering high school sports for PennLive. Edward graduated from The Ohio State University in 2019, where he gained experience covering the baseball, football and basketball teams. Edward also spent time working for The Columbus Dispatch and Cape Cod Times.