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ESPN’s Adam Schefter said coronavirus anxiety was behind the Eagles’ controversial decision to reach for Oklahoma’s Jalen Hurts in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft, despite having 27-year-old franchise quarterback Carson Wentz. “Now in this day and age, I’ve had teams tell me it’s more important than ever to have a backup quarterback …
ESPN’s Adam Schefter said coronavirus anxiety was behind the Eagles’ controversial decision to reach for Oklahoma’s Jalen Hurts in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft, despite having 27-year-old franchise quarterback Carson Wentz.
“Now in this day and age, I’ve had teams tell me it’s more important than ever to have a backup quarterback in this pandemic,” Schefter said during Saturday’s broadcast of the draft. “I think teams are looking to sure up the most important position in this sport and that’s why the Eagles [drafted Hurts].”
Wentz, the Eagles’ 2016 No. 2 overall pick from North Dakota State, has dealt with injuries throughout his short career — most notably tearing his ACL ahead of Super Bowl LII. He started all 16 games last season, but was knocked out of the NFC wild-card game in the first quarter after a helmet-to-helmet collision from Seahawks defensive end Jadeveon Clowney.
Wentz threw for 4,037 yards, 27 touchdowns and seven interceptions with a 63.9 completion percentage during the 2019 regular season.
In 2019, he inked a four-year, $128 million contract extension shortly after the team exercised the fifth-year option. He is under contract until 2024, but the deal has a potential out in 2022.
Hurts, 21, finished second for the Heisman Trophy behind LSU’s Joe Burrow and will presumably back up Wentz for at least a year.
Coronavirus and social distancing have already imposed austere changes to many aspects of day-to-day life, and could impact teams’ personnel decisions looking forward. The NFL remains hopeful the 2020 season can go on, but what that could look like remains fluid.
“We’re going to be playing next year — coronavirus is out there, COVID-19 — what if your quarterback gets the virus?” Schefter continued. “It’s an interesting situation here. I think there are more problems here than ever before.”
