Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

“Cam Newton Is Using Excuses To Not Put Jalen Hurts in the Top Ten” – NFL Analyst Tears Apart Atrocious Take On Jalen Hurts

Cam Newton's Jalen Hurts take not a popular one

Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Eagles recently unveiled their new Super Bowl LIX rings to the world, and reminded anyone who may have forgotten that they are the best in the league.

While the ring ceremony captured the gleeful emotions of all, especially quarterback Jalen Hurts, former NFL quarterback Cam Newton reignited the familiar debate of whether or not Hurts deserves to be held in the same regard as the other great signal callers of the game.

There are opposing sides to any debate, but when a player of the caliber of Hurts has proven himself by defeating one of the best quarterbacks this league has ever seen on the biggest stage of all, one would think that he would be held in high regard. Former Panthers’ quarterback Newton, however, does not think so.

Nick Sirianni, Jeffrey Lurie and Jalen Hurts at the Eagles Super Bowl ring ceremony

(📸 via Eagles) pic.twitter.com/vGtGZOlIMB
— Eliot Shorr-Parks (@EliotShorrParks) July 19, 2025

Cam Newton on Jalen Hurts as a Top QB

The 2015 NFL MVP, Cam Newton, is not so quick to call a spade a spade in the case of Jalen Hurts and his success in leading the Philadelphia Eagles to a Super Bowl.

Newton’s argument against Hurts being a top-ten quarterback currently is that he has too much talent around him. He has strong wide receiver and tight end rooms and a solid defense to fall back on.

“It’s hard for me to grade Jaylen Hurts with the metrics that he with the talent that he has around. It’s hard to judge what Jaylen Hurts can do when you’re throwing to a guy like AJ Brown, DeVonta Smith, when you have…a tight end skill set, you have a dominant defense.”

Furthermore, Newton also made the point that the Eagles don’t need him to play lights-out football and put the team on his back. Hurts just has to ensure he plays well enough not to lose on a team with such a stacked roster.

“Jaylen Hurts does not have to play elite for the Philadelphia Eagles to win. He has to play good, but he doesn’t have to play elite. We’re not asking you to win the game. We’re just asking you not to lose it.”

Cam left Jalen Hurts out of his Top 10 QBs… and here’s why pic.twitter.com/lz6fVtynqO
— 4th&1 with Cam Newton (@4thand1show) July 18, 2025

Prior to giving out his opinion on the matter, Newton acknowledged the fact that this is not a popular opinion and several would take objection to it. As expected, that was the case, especially with NFL analyst Ryan Clark, who responded to the disrespect towards Hurts.

Ryan Clark Sounds off on Newton’s Take

On ESPN’s football show ‘Get Up’, analyst and former NFL player Ryan Clark dismantled Newton for his ludicrous take on Jalen Hurts. Clark not only compared Hurts’ career thus far to that of Newton, but also asked the question why Eli Manning may get into the Hall of Fame? It’s because he beat Tom Brady two times, who is widely considered the GOAT.

“Jaylen Hurts is a top 10 quarterback. And you’re going to look at it in different ways. You’re going to look at talents above X’s and O’s, the ability to help your team win. And then to me, it’s proximity to the goat. Why is Eli Manning going to be a Hall of Famer? Because he had two epic runs to the Super Bowl. And in those Super Bowls, he played great. And he beat the GOAT, not only of that time, but the GOAT of the era.”

Similarly, if you compare Hurts to Mahomes, the player considered the best of the current era, then we come to the realization that Hurts is only one of three signal callers to have beaten Mahomes in the playoffs as well as outplayed him.

“How do we measure every quarterback in the AFC? What is your proximity to Patrick Mahomes? You know the three quarterbacks beat Patrick Mahomes in the playoffs? They’re Joe Burrow, Tom Brady, and Jaylen Hurts. And not only did Jaylen Hurts beat Patrick Mahomes in the playoffs or in the Super Bowl, he outplayed him in the Super Bowl.”

Stop using excuses to move the goal post on Jalen Hurts. He’s a top 10 QB based on talent, wins, & proximity to the 🐐. I’m not sure what else he needs to do, but the results state it plainly…

He’s gone above X & O’s, won at a high clip, & out dueled Mahomes. If there’s 10… pic.twitter.com/cGdDOoMLez
— Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) July 21, 2025

As is the case with most sporting debates, the conversation around Hurts and how great he truly is will be a lingering issue that could continue many years down the line. For players, though, all of this is just noise and distraction. The Super Bowl LIX MVP can just use this as fuel for a burning fire.

Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

Cam Newton

Jalen Hurts

NFL

Philadelphia Eagles

Devavrat Kulkarni

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I am a content writer for the NFL team, and joined The Playoffs after working with Sportskeeda and NFL Analysis as an NFL writer. After starting my professional career as a French-to-English translator, working as a content writer is a new adventure for me. I started out in the sports media field for two main reasons: my love for sports in general, especially the NFL, NBA, and Tennis, as well as my passion for writing. The best part of this job is that I get to write a variety of pieces with the freedom to explore content from various angles. It also enables me to stay up to date with the sporting world, which otherwise can be difficult to do in the day-to-day grind. In a world full of chaos, sports unite and entertain like nothing else!