PHILADELPHIA — The contrast couldn’t hit any harder. On Tuesday morning, a relaxed, smiling Jalen Hurts sat on the set of ABC’s Good Morning America to promote his debut children’s book, Better Than a Touchdown. He already secured his bag. He already hoisted the Lombardi Trophy after dismantling the Chiefs 40-22 in Super Bowl LIX. He owns Philadelphia.
Less than 48 hours earlier, the Miami Dolphins blew up their franchise to release the very man who once took Hurts’ job: Tua Tagovailoa. Miami swallowed an NFL-record $99.2 million in dead cap money just to wipe the slate clean. One quarterback wears a Super Bowl ring. The other just hit the waiver wire.
Watching Hurts on national television Tuesday morning, you couldn’t miss the easy confidence radiating off the 27-year-old superstar. But the Eagles quarterback didn’t hesitate to pull back the curtain on the darkest stretch of his football life. When a nine-year-old fan asked if he ever wanted to quit, Hurts delivered absolute truth.
He transported the audience back to the 2018 National Championship. Alabama trailed the Georgia Bulldogs 13-0. Head coach Nick Saban yanked Hurts at halftime. A true freshman named Tagovailoa jogged onto the field, engineered a legendary comeback, and walked off with a 26-23 overtime victory. Saban gave Tagovailoa the keys to the kingdom. Hurts lost his spot, packed his bags for Oklahoma, and watched his draft stock plummet.
Hurts didn’t just survive that benching; he weaponized it. He threw himself into the fire at Norman, forced his way into the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft, and outworked everyone in the Eagles’ building.
“There was a time in college where I really questioned, you know, what’s going on… Where do I go from here? I had a lot of adversity in front of me. I was counted out, I was doubted and broken down and dissected in all these different ways. I just persevered, my passion overcame every ounce of doubt… without the courage and perseverance and the resilience and the passion, I wouldn’t be here today.”— Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles Quarterback
Hurts channeled that exact heartbreak into Better Than a Touchdown, which hit shelves nationwide yesterday. The story follows a young boy named Jalen who rallies his community to save his school’s football team after the program gets cut. The gorgeous illustrations by Nneka Myers pop off the page, but the core message hits home for any athlete who ever felt discarded.
The brutal Philly winter finally broke this week, matching the warmth Hurts brings to his off-field endeavors. While other players chase endorsements, Hurts spends his free time building up the youth. He told the GMA crew that when he isn’t playing football, he prepares for football and family. His relentless drive turned a collegiate tragedy into an NFL masterpiece.
The 2026 NFL league year officially shifts into high gear today. For the Eagles, general manager Howie Roseman operates from a position of ultimate luxury. Philadelphia holds their franchise cornerstone, fresh off a Super Bowl MVP campaign, allowing them to use free agency and the draft to selectively reload their defensive trenches without desperation.
Down in South Beach, the Dolphins face a brutal rebuild. Eating nearly $100 million in dead money handcuffs Miami’s front office for the next two seasons. Meanwhile, Tagovailoa searches for a lifeline. League insiders heavily link the left-handed signal-caller to the Atlanta Falcons. Atlanta plans to release Kirk Cousins and needs a bridge veteran while Michael Penix Jr. recovers from an ACL tear. Tagovailoa might find a starting job in the NFC South, but his margin for error just vanished entirely.
Two quarterbacks drafted in 2020. Their paths crossed in Tuscaloosa, violently diverged, and now sit on opposite ends of the NFL universe. Hurts played the long game, and he won everything.
