The NFL 2024 season is over and who can’t be in awe of the Eagles? Jalen Hurts became the first quarterback in NFL history to win the rematch. Yeah, read that again! No one has done that! But when he was not performing well, every fan, expert, and analyst was trolling him. And one of the analysts who had criticized Hurts badly was ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky.
But the water is under the bridge now. On Monday, he was on ESPN’s ‘First Take,‘ in conversation with Stephen A. Smith and Shannon Sharpe. Orlovsky publicly apologized to Hurts, saying, “I owe publicly Jalen Hurts an apology. I was probably one this year who’s been the hardest on him. I’ll go back to a couple of weeks ago when I said the passing game’s not good enough right now and I don’t think it’s going to get better. All he’s done since then is have his two best games of the year on the two biggest stages.” Though he has sought an apology, the Philly fans are not forgiving him, which is obvious. Why? Dan Orlovsky had said that Jalen Hurts was not ‘elite’.
Dan Orlovsky: “I owe publicly Jalen Hurts an apology. I was probably one this year who’s been the hardest on him. I’ll go back to a couple of weeks ago when I said the passing game’s not good enough right now and I don’t think it’s going to get better. All he’s done since then is… pic.twitter.com/XuTzIvqy8H
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) February 10, 2025
Orlovsky has hinted at departure from ESPN and also hinted at his future. “I’m taking a break, won’t be on TV for a long time…Never know what the future holds, but I’m taking a break. Just want to say thank you. Appreciate you guys so much,” he said. But when did he join ESPN? He joined the top sports brand in the world, ESPN, in 2018. It was his first year after retirement. At ESPN, Dan Orlovsky has been a guest on ‘First Take’, ‘NFL Live’, and ‘Get Up’. It’s been more than 6 years since he has worked with ESPN. The former NFL quarterback retired in 2017 and successfully pursued his career with the top sports brand as an analyst.
Fans were shocked to hear this from their favorite presenter. An X-user and Dan Orlovsky fan took it seriously and commented, “I hope we see him on a sideline with a headset. Get yourself and your family away from Disney and that toxic environment. Go impact lives my dude. One of the best @danorlovsky7
.” However, fans were more fumed over his comments on the Eagles QB and they showed no empathy reacting to it.
Backlash grows over Dan Orlovsky’s comments on Jalen Hurts
Dan Orlovsky once said, “I don’t think he’ll ever pass a Joe Burrow or a Lamar Jackson or Josh Allen, talent-wise.” And if this is not enough to make an apology, on October 1, 2024, Orlovsky said, “This is a poorly coached football team,” while referring to the Eagles. Even before the 2024 season, Orlovsky badly criticized Jalen Hurts, saying, “If the Eagles could go back right now and re-do that decision, I’m 100% convinced that they would not have taken Jalen Hurts.” While commenting on this in 2021, Orlovsky added, “If Jalen Hurts plays as well as he can, he can’t sniff as good as Carson Wentz is.” Well, even if Dan has apologized, these words can’t be reversed, right?
Fans didn’t spare Dan in his comments on Hurts. One Eagles fan reacted to Dan Orlovsky’s apology-thing, saying, “Nonsense and wrong again. Keep up the hate. It obviously fueled him all the way to SB MVP.” A production of 221 yards passing, 72 yards rushing, and three total touchdowns earned a Super Bowl MVP status for the Eagles’ QB. Taking a pun at Dan’s ‘taking a break’ statement, another fan reacted to it: “Hurts put bro in retirement. 
.” Though we will see further what Dan Orlovsky has said about his retirement, this comment was hilarious!
One fan reacted by saying, “Backup QBs as hot takers tearing up other QBs making moves in the league.” Echoing on the same sentiment, another Philly fan commented, “A career bum saying Jalen isn’t good enough, but TB12 and Peyton say he’s amazing. Does nobody else see this trend but me?” While the other fan took a strong jab at Orlovsky on X and said, “All these guys do is move the goalpost over and over again. When Jalen wins another one they’ll say “Yeah but…” It has been a tradition that you say bad words about someone and then you can’t take back your words when the person performs well.
And lastly, another fan remembered Orlovsky’s words, “No @danorlovsky7 you said he [Jalen Hurts] would never be in the CONVERSATION or those other QBs. You said nothing about him passing them. He’s absolutely in their class as a player. Arm talent is one thing, WINNING is another.” Well, the analyst has declared a departure from ESPN. But it would be exciting to know how his attitude towards the Eagles will be after a return!
The post Calls Mount Against Dan Orlovsky’s Jalen Hurts Comment as NFL Reporter Hints at Departure From ESPN appeared first on EssentiallySports.
