Jalen Hurts called 'one of the biggest issues in all of football'

Dating back to his college days, Jalen Hurts has always been an extremely polarizing player. 

The dual-threat skills and the athleticism are evident, and while he's had plenty of help along the way, his resume is also quite impressive. Nevertheless, some analysts are still far from moved by his tape, and they refuse to give him his flowers as one of the top dogs in the National Football League.

Notably, that was the case again with Chris Simms, who's been one of his harshest critics. Once again, Simms didn't hold back when talking about the Philadelphia Eagles signal-caller.

Chris Simms eviscerates Jalen Hurts

“To me, (Hurts) is one of the biggest issues in all of football,”  Simms said (h/t Philadelphia Eagles Central). “The quarterback, the highest-paid guy on the team, won’t do what the coaches say to do, won’t do what the play says to do, and won’t do what the defense says the play should do. And that’s a problem. He knows how to play; there’s no doubt, he’s still a great athlete, he’s tough, there’s no doubt about that. He still throws a really good deep ball. I just came away actually watching (film), going ‘Damn, it’s worse than I remembered’ … there are  people open everywhere, and we’re not throwing it. It’s not even close; it was the worst year of quarterbacking from Jalen Hurts I’ve seen in  the last few years.”

Simms tried to say some good things about Hurts, but it ended up sounding more like a backhanded compliment than actual praise for him.

“I know he’s a winner, but I mean damn, everybody won at Alabama and Oklahoma, and most people would win on this Philadelphia team too, so I’m sick of hearing that crap,” added Simms.

At the end of the day, Hurts has done a great job of shutting out the outside world and focusing on the task at hand. That said, there have been some pretty incendiary reports about how his demeanor has rubbed people the wrong way in the building, and that's something only a handful of superstars can afford to do.

Hurts will be under more pressure than ever in 2026. His new contract extension isn't a given, and with reports doubting his coachability and character, he'll have to show the Eagles that they're winning because of him and not despite him.