It’s good to have friends who have your back.
Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith answered back to a perceived diss by former teammate Darius Slay toward quarterback and Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts after Slay left Hurts off a list of his Top 5 NFL quarterbacks during a recent interview.
“The elite go to the top four guys, that’s how I do elites,” Slay said on the “Pick a Side” podcast. “Elite for me, in the quarterback world, is Joe Burrow, (Patrick) Mahomes, Lamar (Jackson) and Josh Allen. Those are the elites.”
In the most 2025 way possible, Smith answered back via his own appearance on a different podcast, going on “7PM In Brooklyn” hosted by NBA legend Carmelo Anthony.
“Slay said the ‘Big 4,’ for me, it’s the ‘Big 5’ and Jalen’s in that five,” Smith said. “The four that he named and then I’m putting Jalen in there. To me, that’s the ‘Big 5.’ I don’t think it’s a ‘Big 4,’ it’s a ‘Big 5,’ honestly.”
Of all the quarterbacks one might criticize in the NFL, Hurts is probably the most adept at deflecting criticism and keeping an even keel — whether the critics are inside or outside of his own locker room.
Hurts in Rare Air Among NFL QBs Historically
“According to Elias Sports, Hurts is only the seventh NFL quarterback to appear in multiple Super Bowls and win a championship in their first five seasons,” Eagles Wire’s Glenn Erby wrote on March 20. “The other quarterbacks who did so are Troy Aikman, Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes, Ben Roethlisberger, Kurt Warner, and Russell Wilson. He’ll enter 2025 with renewed confidence and weapons at every key position.”
It’s a far cry from midway through the 2024 season, when both Smith and fellow wide receiver A.J. Brown decided it would be a good idea to call out Hurts for not getting the ball enough — and did so while the Eagles were in the midst of a 10-game winning streak.
“Hurts still doesn’t get enough credit despite the fact that he has been a Pro Bowler and been in the Most Valuable Player conversation,” Sports Illustrated’s Patrick McAvoy wrote on March 12. “Also, he just helped lead the Eagles to the Super Bowl, beat Mahomes, and won the Super Bowl MVP. Hurts is a star and although some may not put him at the same level as some of the league’s other stars, at least Smith came to his defense.”
Slay Released Following Super Bowl Win
Slay, 34 years old, was released by the Eagles on March 12 and signed a 1-year, $10 million contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers later that same day.
While Slay didn’t have an interception during the regular season for the first time since his rookie year with the Detroit Lions in 2013, he was excellent in 4 postseason games on the way to winning the Super Bowl with 14 tackles, 5 pass deflections and 1 interception.
Slay would be a no-brainer to keep on the roster for most teams but was deemed expendable because the Eagles also have two of the NFL’s elite young cornerbacks in Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean.
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