Report: Jalen Hurts expected to receive increased playing time at quarterback

The Philadelphia Eagles aren’t fully benching Carson Wentz (yet, at least) but they are planning to cut back on his snaps.

Jalen Hurts is “expected to receive increased playing time at quarterback” during the Eagles’ Week 12 game against the Seattle Seahawks on Monday Night Football, according to a report from NFL insider Ian Rapoport. RapSheet specifically notes that, unlike in previous Hurts packages, there will be plays where Wentz isn’t on the field. More details:

It’s unlikely that Hurts, the second-round Heisman finalist from Oklahoma and Alabama, will get to take an entire series. More likely, it will be two or three plays at a time. But, based on the game plan and the week of practice, he should see his most significant snaps yet. [...] One source cautioned that outside factors can cause things to change on gameday. But this has been the plan all week. Hurts likely has a package of plays to choose from, though head coach Doug Pederson would not commit to it this week.

ESPN’s Tim McManus adds that there has been a “noticeable increase in Hurts’ snaps with the first team at QB” in this week’s practice.

There’s been a lot of talk about the Eagles benching Wentz for Hurts with how terrible the former has performed. Benching Wentz is a move that most fans seem to support at this point:

But the Eagles apparently aren’t ready to fully make the change so they’re attempting some kind of half-measure instead.

It’ll be very interesting to see how this works out on Monday evening. The Seahawks are allowing the most passing yards per game by far in the NFL so each quarterback should have an opportunity to take advantage of this Seattle defense. If Wentz continues to struggle and Hurts looks good, the calls to bench No. 11 will only grow even louder.