Quarterbacks Mac Jones, left and Jalen Hurts warm ups for Alabama for a game against Mississippi on Sept. 15, 2018. The two meet as NFL quarterbacks on Sunday as New England plays Philadelphia. Rogelio V. Solis/Associated Press
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — For two seasons, Mac Jones tried to keep up with Jalen Hurts.
In 2017, Jones arrived in Tuscaloosa as a redshirt freshman and naturally gravitated toward the quarterbacks. At the time, Jones backed up two future NFL starters, Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa.
The first lesson he received was in conditioning. At Alabama, Coach Nick Saban has a famous fourth-quarter conditioning program. Players are pushed to the limits as their physical and mental toughness are put to the test. That’s where Jones attempted to keep up with Hurts.
As he learned, it wasn’t easy.
Six years later, Jones and Hurts will meet again when the Patriots take on the Philadelphia Eagles in their regular-season opener on Sunday. The Patriots quarterback explained what he learned from Hurt during their two seasons together.
“I guess conditioning is the first thing. Me and him were always running against each other. He’s definitely faster than me, but I feel like I gave him a good run for his money. I learned a lot from him”
In 2016, Hurts became the first true freshman to start at quarterback at Alabama in 32 years. He was also the SEC Offensive Player of the Year and SEC Freshman of the Year. That’s why it became a national story when Hurts was benched in favor of true freshman Tua Tagovailoa in the national championship the next year. Tagovailoa led Alabama to a come-from-behind overtime win against Clemson.
In 2019, Hurts was Alabama’s backup before transferring to Oklahoma. In 2020, the Eagles drafted Hurts in the second round as a backup to Carson Wentz. It took him three seasons in the NFL, but last year, Hurts showed everyone he was one of the best quarterbacks in the league. His story remains inspiring for Jones.
Last year, Hurts finished with 3,701 passing yards to go with 22 touchdowns and six interceptions. He also ran for 579 yards to go with three rushing touchdowns.
BENGALS: Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow became the highest-paid player in the NFL on Thursday, agreeing to a five-year, $275 million contract extension with more than $219 million guaranteed, according to a person familiar with the deal.
The deal, which will pay Burrow an average of $55 million a year, puts him ahead of other top quarterbacks in the league who signed new deals in the off-season. Signing the 2022 Pro Bowler and 2021 AP NFL Comeback Player of the Year to an extension was a goal of the team this summer, but the deal wasn’t finalized until three days before the Bengals’ season opener at Cleveland.
COWBOYS: The Supreme Court of Texas denied the latest appeal made by Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones’ team in the 2020 personal injury lawsuit accusing him of sexual assault, clearing the path for the case to be heard by a jury.
The lawsuit, originally filed in a Dallas County court, was dismissed in February 2022 but a state appellate court reversed that decision this past February, allowing it to continue.
The supreme court’s decision is in response to an appeal made on Jones’ behalf in May, according to court documents filed Tuesday.
The lawsuit stems from an alleged incident on Sept. 16, 2018, at AT&T Stadium. The February 2023 appeals court decision said a woman claims Jones “kissed her on the mouth and forcibly grabbed her without her consent.”
RAIDERS: Defensive end Chandler Jones again took to social media to criticize team officials, posting and then deleting Wednesday night that the club sent someone from the city of Las Vegas’ crisis response team to his home.
Jones showed a picture on his Instagram account he said was the badge of the person at his door.
“Raiders sent her to my place said … You need to come with us. ‘You’re in danger,’ ” Jones wrote.
He also threatened to publicize unspecified information on Las Vegas Coach Josh McDaniels if Jones doesn’t play Sunday when the Raiders open their season at the Denver Broncos.
This is the second time this week Jones took to Instagram to show his discontent. He also criticized McDaniels and General Manager Dave Ziegler on Tuesday, saying he was locked out of the team facility.
VIKINGS: Minnesota safety and special teams standout Josh Metellus agreed to terms on a two-year contract extension, further solidifying the club’s deepest position.The deal for Metellus, who was a sixth-round draft pick out of Michigan in 2020, has a maximum value of $13 million with $6 million guaranteed, his agent Drew Rosenhaus confirmed.
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