The Eagles traded Joe Flacco to the Jets this week, meaning starting quarterback Jalen Hurts no longer has the veteran mentor he’s relied on this season. Hurts said after the trade that Flacco’s presence has been important to him this year.
Hurts said he makes a point of telling the other quarterbacks on the team before every game that he appreciates them helping him get ready, and that he told Flacco one more time after Flacco was traded.
“I expressed that to Joe, and I just wanted to let him know that everything I said before those games, I truly believed it from the standpoint of the things that he’s been able to do over his career, the knowledge he’s poured on me, his voice in the room. It meant a lot to me. I wish him the best of luck as he gets the opportunity to go out there and play,” Hurts said, via Martin Frank of the Delaware News Journal.
Hurts said he and backup Gardner Minshew have learned a lot from Flacco’s wealth of experience.
“I think there is an age factor that does matter,” Hurts said. “And a maturity factor. Having that in the room, a guy that’s won the Super Bowl, seen so much, double-digit years in the league. He has more years than all of us combined in the room now. So it definitely means a lot to me, but I just lean on my coaches and on Gardner, and we’ll continue to get it rolling.”