Malcolm Jenkins on Eagles HOF, Jalen Hurts and team scrutiny

PHILADELPHIA – Former safety Malcolm Jenkins will be inducted into the Eagles Hall of Fame during Friday’s game against the Chicago Bears at Lincoln Financial Field (3 p.m. ET, Fox).

Jenkins is a two-time Super Bowl champion, three-time Pro Bowler, and one of the sports world’s most influential advocates for social change during his time as a player. He was the undisputed leader of the first Eagles team to hoist the Lombardi Trophy.

His experiences as a front man in Philadelphia allow him a unique perspective on the post quarterback position Jolen Hurts now holds, both as a man who helped guide a team to a championship, and one who has been charged with keeping things on track, now that the glow of that title has given way to a cold, prickly reality.

Jenkins said of the season after a headline, “It’s all the lies you tell yourself, that’s what makes it hard.” “Because you just won a Super Bowl. So even if you go back to the starting line, in your mind, you’re a Super Bowl-caliber team and you feel like you almost deserve to get there, even if you don’t talk about it, you can say the right things internally.

“A lot of times, you lie to yourself. The fans lie to themselves. Everyone in the game tells you how good you are and why they expect you to do something. And then the season comes and you realize this season has nothing to do with last year. … And I think the faster teams come to the truth that they’re starting from scratch and (don’t) want to take anything for granted, I think those are the teams that double down.” that can create dynasties, and that can stand the test of time.”

Jenkins’ Hall of Fame induction comes at a critical point in the Eagles’ 2025 season. They are fresh off a loss against the Dallas Cowboys in which a 21–0 lead turned into a crushing 24–21 loss. Some things that used to come easily on the ’24 team, like the ground game led by Saquon Barkley, have become extremely difficult. Frustrations are brewing and reports of discontent are emerging, some pointed towards Hurts and the way he operates his offense.

Jenkins has a personal relationship with Hurts. When Hurts was just a rookie he saw something in him. Hurts’ first start of 2020 came in a 24–21 Eagles win against the New Orleans Saints. Jenkins, who had spent the first five years of his career in New Orleans, was then back with the Saints, and later told Hurts on the field, “Hey, keep doing your thing. It’s a tough town but you’re up to it.”

“I think watching him as a competitor and a fan, there’s no one better than him to be in the position he’s in right now,” Jenkins said. “I’ve watched quarterbacks and players throughout their careers, there can’t be a lot of people in the seat that he’s sitting in. I recognized it very early on, and I think it’s no surprise that he now stands as a Super Bowl champion, still leading one of the best teams in the National Football League, while having it all on his shoulders.”

While talking about the criticism and many different internal conflicts of a leader like Hurts, Jenkins compared it to his father driving the car on a family road trip.

“He’s the one driving. His hands are on the wheels. He’s looking for all the hazards. He’s taking us to the destination. And a lot of us are in the back seat complaining about how bumpy the ride is, how close we almost came to crashing. And it’s really up to him to keep his focus and block everything out because he’s in that position. And I think that’s really what leadership is about, it’s like, Hey, what if “You’re the one driving the car, everybody’s allowed to have their opinion, that’s fine, but your focus has to be on the main thing and that’s what’s getting us where we’re going,” Jenkins said.

“I’m a huge fan of Jalen’s, not only because of our personal relationships, but just because of what he stands for and I understand myself what a vision for a team looks like, something that maybe not everyone sees, but I have to stand 10 feet down on it until everyone sees what I see.”

Jenkins’ arrival in Philadelphia, like Hurts’, was not met with much enthusiasm. There were other big-name safeties who were the apple of the fan base’s eye in free agency, but the Eagles instead gave the versatile Jenkins a three-year, $15.5 million contract in March 2014.

Jenkins started all 96 regular season games in his six seasons in Philadelphia and was on the field for 99% of defensive snaps in five of those campaigns. He posted 11 interceptions (four of which he returned for touchdowns), 58 passes defended and over 500 tackles. He led the 2017 team to the Super Bowl despite injuries to quarterback Carson Wentz, tackled Jason Peters and several others, and did so as a player on a moonlit night. Head of the Players Coalition, which included trips to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on vacation to fight for bills advancing social reform. (Jenkins is co-founder of the Players Coalition which works with professional athletes, coaches and league owners to improve social justice and racial equity in the country).

“I think as athletes, we always try to blame distractions. We don’t want to do anything outside of our routine, but I think that makes us great football players but really ineffective citizens. I wanted to be both and understood that sacrifice was required,” Jenkins said.

“I think when we started to see our impact it was worth it, we as athletes understand our power to call people, hold meetings, amplify the work, support the community, and it doesn’t require anything from us but energy and time. And when you think about it, especially now at this end of it when I’m no longer on the field, I don’t think we consider how much energy and time the community gives us. People come to us every week, every year, Generations come with energy, passion, pride, support. Money, and so when you really start comparing those things, it’s not really that big of a sacrifice if I’m going to call this place home.