Watch Eagles fans sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to Jalen Hurts

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts celebrated his 24th birthday on Sunday night with about 30,000 fans at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday night.  At its home field, the NFL team held its only practice of training camp open to fans, and it coincided with the former Alabama standout’s birthday.

The OFFICIAL happy birthday to @JalenHurts 🦅#EaglesCamp | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/vfuMw9APar

— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) August 8, 2022

Hurts had given the fans something to sing about by running for a touchdown and throwing a TD pass to new wide receiver A.J. Brown while working against the Philadelphia defense during the practice session.  Brown became Philadelphia’s most notable offseason addition to its offense on April 28, when the Eagles traded first- and third-round draft picks to the Tennessee Titans to obtain him. In his first three NFL seasons, Brown caught 185 passes for 2,995 yards and 24 touchdowns for Tennessee. Philadelphia signed Brown to a four-year, $100 contract extension.

Another former Alabama standout, Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith, missed the open practice as he recovers from a groin injury.  Hurts is preparing for his second season as Philadelphia’s starting QB. He ascended to the starting role with four games left in the 2020 season as the Eagles struggled with fifth-year starter Carson Wentz under center.

After Philadelphia traded Wentz to the Indianapolis Colts, Hurts started 15 games in 2021. Hurts completed 265-of-432 passes for 3,144 yards with 16 touchdowns and nine interceptions and led NFL quarterbacks with 784 yards and 10 touchdowns on 139 rushing attempts, despite an ankle injury in the 12th game.  Hurts became the fifth player in NFL history with at least 3,144 passing yards and 784 rushing yards in the same season in 2021.

Philadelphia starts its three-game preseason schedule on Friday against the New York Jets and kicks off its regular-season slate on Sept. 11 against the Detroit Lions.  Hurts won the SEC Offensive Player of the Year Award as a freshman at Alabama and started two CFP national championship games under center for the Crimson Tide. Alabama lost to Clemson 35-31 to cap the 2016 season and defeated Georgia 26-23 in overtime to take the title for 2017.

In the latter game, Tua Tagovailoa replaced Hurts at halftime and rallied the Tide to victory. In the 2018 season, Hurts served as Tagovailoa’s backup.  After transferring to Oklahoma, Hurts finished as the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy in 2019, and he entered the NFL as a second-round draft pick in 2020.