Brian Baldinger says Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts was "detached" last season, but believes the 25-year-old QB can get back to that elite level he was playing at in 2022.
"I think he has a chance to get back, Ike, to being an elite quarterback," Baldinger told Ike Reese and Jack Fritz on Thursday's 94WIP Afternoon Show. "He's got elite athletic ability. They've surrounded him with talent, they're going to draft an offensive lineman high—I don't know how high. But they're going to draft another one to go with what they've added...You can't ask for a whole lot more for any quarterback in this league than what Jalen has. He's got to go do his job now...You can't ask for an organization to support their quarterback any more than they have."
After signing a five-year, $255 million contract extension with the Eagles in the summer of 2023, Hurts had a down year, turning the ball over a career-high 20 times (15 interceptions) as the Eagles collapsed down the stretch losing six of their final seven games.
"He looked awfully detached," Baldinger said of Hurts in 2023. "He didn't look like a leader last year. He looked like he was just in a zone and detached from the team. And when there are things going on on the sideline, the quarterback has got to settle a lot of those things down. When the team was in a tailspin, I didn't see him doing any electric things to dig that team out. It's on his shoulders. I mean they paid him the money to be the guy, he's got to like fix some things."
The Eagles replaced first-year offensive coordinator Brian Johnson with Kellen Moore and Baldy talked about affect Moore will have on Hurts and the Eagles' new look Saquon-Barkley led offense.
"The big thing, really, is how are they going to coach Jalen?" Baldinger said. "Are they going to coach him hard the way he wants to be coached? Or are they going to be soft on him? I mean he needs to be coached hard, he needs to bounce back. He needs it, he knows he needs it. I think, you know, like that's got to be part of Kellen's demands as he solves this new offense right now.
"I think Kellen Moore is creative in some ways," said Baldy. "I think you'll players move around, I think you'll see some pre-snap motion. I think you'll see an emphasis more on one back than a committee of backs, depending on the health or situation. I don't think you'll see three backs rotating the way they have here. I think you'll have a backup to Saquon, but it's going to be Saquon's team, he's going to be out there on third downs. They're going to move him around."
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