Cam Newton admits error on Jalen Hurts, ‘the most disrespected football player’

Former NFL Most Valuable Player Cam Newton called Jalen Hurts “the most disrespected football player” during the latest edition of his weekly “4th and 1” podcast. And Newton admitted he had been one of those disrespecting the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback.

“I’m not too good to say that I (expletive),” Newton said, “and I made a mistake.”

Newton’s change in attitude about Hurts came after the former Alabama standout led the Eagles to the NFL championship for the 2024 season. Hurts won the Pete Rozelle Trophy as the Most Valuable Player in Philadelphia’s 40-22 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX on Feb. 9.

“I’ve been extremely, extremely, you know, analytical about who Jalen Hurts is,” Newton said. “Calling him a game manager, calling him a person that: Is he top 10? He’s a guy who plays within himself, and the way he plays is not what we’re used to seeing. …

“He presents a whole different element that you have to start really judging and saying, like, yo, it doesn’t matter how he’s doing it, he’s getting it done. So, yes, he’s thrusted himself into elite status because no matter what the circumstances, in the famous words of coach (Bill) Belichick, you win the game how the game needs to be won. And that’s what Jalen Hurts has done.”

Newton’s pre-Super Bowl comments about Hurts included negative comparisons to AFC quarterbacks Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes, with Newton asserting “all the game-changers are in the AFC.”

“Does this put him in elite status?” Newton said this week. “I think so. I think so. And it’s not because of his overall body of work. It’s game-by-game body of work. I don’t think nobody wants to see a Jalen Hurts or play against him.”

Newton said his pronouncements about Hurts and Philadelphia’s path to the Super Bowl made approaching the Eagles quarterback before the championship game for an interview with ESPN uneasy.

“I’ve been extremely critical of Jalen Hurts,” Newton said. “Even so much so like interviewing him and us talking off the record, it’s like, ‘Yo, bro, like, well, what’s up?’ It was a little contentious. But sitting back and watching him perform, bro, I could not be more happy because he’s the guy that everybody praises athletes to be -- humble, don’t be a distraction. He is the most disrespected football player. …

“And I think Jalen is a person, bro, that we’re living in the world of showmen. We live in a world where people, they listen more to the squeaky wheel rather than the smooth wheel, if that makes sense. Like, Jalen is like the smooth person. Like, he ain’t going to create controversy.”