Former NFL quarterback and NFL Network analyst David Carr provided a surprising take on the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback situation. Jalen Hurts, who finished second in MVP voting last season, has been dealing with a knee injury for most of the season. Last Sunday, against the San Francisco 49ers, he missed part of the second half after returning to the locker room to get checked for a concussion following a hit.
The Eagles’ backup QB is Marcus Mariota, who is in his ninth NFL season after winning the Heisman Trophy at Oregon in 2014. He was the second overall pick in 2015 and has started 74 games during his career. Mariota briefly played last week against the 49ers while Hurts was getting evaluated.
David Carr Wants QB Change
Carr said Mariota should start for the Eagles to allow Hurts to get healthy before the playoffs start. He made his case for Mariota starting on the NFL Network earlier this week:
“I’d say he’s probably better at playing quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles. Right now, he’d be more productive.”
Carr also said, “Clearly, Jalen isn’t comfortable reading through a defense in a drop-back pass scenario. Some would say he’s not even good at it.” He believes the Eagles offense is suffering because Hurts is running less after getting hurt.
"I'd say he's probably better at playing quarterback for the Philadelphia @Eagles, right now he'd be more productive."@DCarr8 emphasizes Marcus Mariota should be the QB1 over Jalen Hurts. 😳 pic.twitter.com/rGgp6WZjIG
— NFL Total Access (@NFLTotalAccess) December 6, 2023
Jalen Hurts’ Performance This Season
Hurts has rushed 10.1 times per game with 12 touchdowns this season, compared to 11 times a game and 13 touchdowns in 2022. There is a significant drop in yards per rush and rush yards per game.
Last season, Hurts was picking up 4.6 yards per rush and 50.7 yards per game. In 2023, his yards per rush are down to 3.6, and his rush yards per game are 35.8 yards — almost 15 yards below his average last season.
MORE: NFC East Playoff Scenarios
Through the first six games, Hurts was averaging four yards per rush with just over 10 attempts per game. In the last six games, his attempts per game are around the same total, but he’s down to just over three yards per rush.
Last season, Mariota started 13 games in Atlanta before losing his starting job to Desmond Ridder. In 2022, Mariota completed 61.3% of his passes for 2,219 yards with 15 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He ran 5.2 times per game with an average of 6.5 yards per rush and four touchdowns.
Who Is David Carr?
Carr was the first overall pick by the Houston Texans, an expansion team, in the 2002 draft out of Fresno State. During his rookie season, he had nine touchdowns and 15 interceptions and was sacked 76 times.
In five seasons as the Texans’ QB, Carr had 59 touchdowns with 65 interceptions and was sacked 249 times.
After leaving Houston, Carr would only start four more games during the last six years of his career. His brother, Derek, is currently in his first year as the starting quarterback for the New Orleans Saints after nine seasons with the Raiders.
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