Eagles' Jordan Mailata Calls Out 'Clickbait' After Jeffery Simmons' Comments About Jalen Hurts

Philadelphia Eagles left tackle Jordan Mailata isn't giving any attention to outside noise going into Sunday's matchup with the Tennessee Titans.

After Titans defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons said earlier in the week that the way to stop Jalen Hurts is to avoid letting him make plays with his legs, Mailata had no response to what he called "clickbait" material:

"I don't pay attention to that stuff. That's clickbait stuff," he said, per The Athletic's Zach Berman. "That's what you guys get paid for. ...I only care about everyone in this locker room. This locker room is all I give a damn about it. I don't care what you guys say about this locker room, I don't care what any other locker room says about this locker room. This is my focus."

Simmons' exact quote was the Titans need to make Hurts "be a quarterback" to "Stop his runs, make sure (he) doesn't get out of the pocket and make plays."

It reads like a fairly innocuous comment, but given how much discussion there has been over the past 12 months about Hurts and the Eagles' passing game, it could be interpreted as a dig at his pocket presence.

There are people in the NFL who would agree with Simmons' assessment that keeping Hurts in the pocket is the best way to defend him.

In the quarterback tiers column from The Athletic's Mike Sando that posted on Aug. 4, one defensive coach talking about Hurts said his "best plays are off schedule."

Hurts had an up-and-down performance in Week 1 against the Washington Commanders. He finished 14-of-25 for 203 yards and three touchdowns, along with 46 rushing yards on seven carries.

The Eagles' first three possessions in the second half ended in three-and-outs, but those were followed by back-to-back scoring drives, including a 43-yard touchdown pass from Hurts to Dallas Goedert that was the difference in the game.

There will probably always be a high variance in Hurts' play on a possession-to-possession basis, but the overall results for the Eagles with him as their starting quarterback have been strong enough to produce one Super Bowl victory in two trips to the big game.