07 September 2023 , 19:33
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New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has explained why it’s unfair to compare one of his players to Jalen Hurts.
The Patriots are preparing for Week One of the 2023 NFL regular season, which begins on Sunday. Belichick and Co. take on the Philadelphia Eagles in Foxborough, Massachusetts, in their opening game of the season.
Hurts has been a star player for the Eagles since being drafted with the 53rd overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. After two years in the league, Hurts signed a new long-term contract in March worth $255 million (£204 million), with $179.3 million (£143.7 million) guaranteed.
The new contract came after Hurts helped the Eagles reach the Super Bowl and was one of the five NFL MVP nominees for 2022. And now Hurts is being seen as setting the standard for what the modern quarterback needs to be able to succeed.
In the case of the Patriots, Malik Cunningham has been earmarked as being a future star in the NFL. The 24-year-old went undrafted but was signed by the Patriots in the off-season, and is capable of performing as both a quarterback and a wide receiver.
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Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Belichick was asked if he thinks Cunningham can be the Patriots’ answer to Hurts. And the head coach responded by both praising the Eagles quarterback and noting it’s not right to compare the duo at this stage.
“Yeah, I mean Malik’s got some good skills,” Belichick said, via .“I think it would be a stretch to compare Malik Cunningham to Jalen Hurts now.
“I mean, we’re talking about a guy who was second in MVP voting last year, or whatever he was.
“Athletically, there’s some similarities, but you’re talking about arguably the best player in the league or one of the top two or three best players in the league.
“Nobody has anybody that can be him, and if they do, that guy’s probably not playing on the scout team for that team anyway.
“I mean, it is what it is. We go through that every week. Every team’s got a few good players, and some great players, and it’s hard to replicate those players.
“If you have one, your guy’s probably not on the scout team doing that for that guy anyway. You do the best you can.
“We’ll have somebody to try to simulate the best we can what Hurts does, but we don’t have anybody like Hurts, and probably, neither does anybody else.”