The former Alabama football quarterback is having another jersey swap
If you want a Jalen Hurts jersey, you might want to pump the brakes for a moment. After wearing No. 2 in his rookie season, he is going back to wearing No. 1 for the Eagles. He wore No. 2 for Alabama football, but he is still making the change.
When Hurts transferred from Alabama to Oklahoma, he made a similar swap. He continued to wear No. 1 at the Senior Bowl before being drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles.
In his rookie season, he was unable to wear No. 1 because of punter Cameron Johnston. Now that Johnston has signed with the Houston Texans, Hurts managed to make the swap.
This coincides with a move up the depth chart. After being drafted by the Eagles, Hurts began last year as QB2. He became the starter by the end of the season, but trading Carson Wentz and trading back in the 2021 NFL Draft helped prove that Hurts is the guy for 2021.
The jersey number change symbolized a change of mindset in college. Even though the No. 2 jersey was unavailable at Oklahoma, many saw it as a way of him saying that he will not be a second option. He left Alabama football and became a QB1 and a Heisman finalist.
While this narrative might have been overstated, Hurts will have a similar mindset in 2021. He is seen by many as a career backup. Some think that the Eagles should have drafted a quarterback instead of trading back. This also coincides with Carson Wentz deciding to wear No. 2 for the Indianapolis Colts after being traded from Philly.
At the end of the day, there is a lot that goes into jersey numbers. Some players take it personally, and others simply want a number that looks good on the jersey. We might not know what made Hurts change it up, but he did make an active decision to wear No. 1 for the Philadelphia Eagles after wearing No. 2 as a rookie.