Allen Hurns

Allen Bernard Hurns (born November 12, 1991) is a former American football wide receiver. He played college football at the University of Miami and was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars as an undrafted free agent in 2014. Hurns also played for the Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins.

Early life
Hurns attended Miami Carol City Senior High School in Miami, Florida. He played high school football as a wide receiver and ran track. As a junior, Hurns had 23 receptions for 450 yards and seven touchdowns. As a senior, he collected six receptions for 110 yards before suffering a season-ending injury.

In track, Hurns ran a career-best time of 11.69 seconds in the 100 meters at the 2006 Broward County Championships, where he placed fourth. Hurns placed third in the 400 meters at the 2008 Hallandale Invitational, setting a personal-best time of 50.30 seconds. At the 2008 FHSAA 4A Region 4 Meet, he recorded a career-best time of 22.11 seconds in the 200 meters, placing seventh in the prelims.

Regarded as a three-star recruit by Rivals.com, Hurns was ranked as one of top 100 wide receivers in the nation by Scout.com.

College career
Hurns accepted a football scholarship from the University of Miami. As a true freshman, he appeared in nine games focusing on special teams, while registering four tackles.

As a sophomore, Hurns started seven out of 12 games, tallying 31 receptions (third on the team) for 415 yards (third on the team), a 13.4-yard average, and four touchdowns.

As a junior, Hurns missed spring practice while recovering from surgery to fix a torn labrum. He started 8 out of 11 games, making 28 receptions (fourth on the team) for 314 yards (sixth on the team), an 11.2-yard average and four touchdowns. He did not play in the third game against Bethune-Cookman University due to a concussion. Hurns suffered a broken left thumb in the tenth game against the University of Virginia.

As a senior, Hurns started 11 of 13 games and led the team with 62 receptions for 1,162 yards (18.7-yard avg.) and six touchdowns. He also received the Jack Harding Award as the Hurricanes Most Valuable Player, after setting the school single-season record with 1,162 receiving yards.

During his collegiate career, Hurns started 26 of 45 games and had 121 receptions for 1,891 yards and 14 touchdowns for the Hurricanes.

2014 season
On May 11, 2014, the Jacksonville Jaguars signed Hurns as an undrafted free agent to a three-year, $1.54 million contract with a signing bonus of $5,000.

On September 7, Hurns became the first rookie wide receiver in franchise history to start in a season opener. Playing against the Philadelphia Eagles, Hurns caught four passes for 110 yards and two touchdowns from quarterback Chad Henne. His first two receptions in the first quarter both went for touchdowns, making Hurns only the second wide receiver in NFL history to record touchdowns on his first two catches (Charles Rogers of the Detroit Lions was the other in 2003), and the first rookie to ever score two receiving touchdowns in the first quarter of his first game.

Hurns finished his rookie year with 51 receptions for 677 yards and six touchdowns in 16 games and eight starts.

2015 season
On November 29, 2015, Hurns was hospitalized after suffering an injury during Week 11 against the San Diego Chargers by hitting his head after attempting a diving catch. He was released from the hospital later that day. Hurns did not practice on December 3, 2015, and remained in concussion protocol. On December 4, 2015, the Jaguars announced that Hurns would not play in Week 13 against the Tennessee Titans.

Hurns finished his second professional season with 64 receptions for 1,031 yards and 10 touchdowns in 15 games and starts, which all remain his current career highs. As of 2015, Hurns holds the record for most touchdowns in first two seasons for an undrafted free agent in NFL history (16), and was the only wide receiver to score a touchdown in seven straight games, all while playing with a sports hernia. He was ranked 89th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2016.

2016 season
On June 2, 2016, Hurns signed a four-year, $40 million contract extension with $16 million guaranteed.

Hurns regressed in the 2016 season from his successful season the previous year. Hurns started and appeared in every game up until Week 13. During a Week 4 30–27 victory over the Indianapolis Colts, he had two receptions for 47 yards and his first touchdown of the season. During a Week 8 36–22 road loss to the Tennessee Titans on Thursday Night Football, Hurns caught seven passes for a season-high 98 yards and a touchdown. During a Week 12 28–21 road loss to the Buffalo Bills, he recorded his third touchdown of the season. However, Hurns suffered a hamstring injury in that game which caused him to miss the final five games of the season. The Jaguars finished with a record of 3–13 and did not qualify for the playoffs.

Hurns finished the 2016 season with 35 receptions for 477 yards and three touchdowns in 11 games and starts.

2017 season
During the season-opening 29–7 road victory over the Houston Texans, Hurns' teammate Allen Robinson was lost for the season due to a torn ACL. As a result, Hurns had to step up in the offense. In the next game against the Tennessee Titans, he recorded six receptions for 82 yards and his first touchdown of the season as the Jaguars lost by a score of 37–16. The following week against the Baltimore Ravens, he caught three passes for 20 yards and a touchdown during the 44–7 victory. The last time a Jaguar caught a touchdown in consecutive games was Marqise Lee in November 2016.

During a Week 7 27–0 shutout victory over the Indianapolis Colts, Hurns caught five passes for 101 yards, topping 100 yards for the first time since December 2015. Three weeks later on his 26th birthday, Hurns had a season-high seven receptions for 70 yards but left the eventual 20–17 overtime victory over the Los Angeles Chargers with an ankle injury. He missed the next six games due to the injury.

Hurns finished the 2017 season with 39 receptions for 484 yards and a career-low two touchdowns in 10 games and eight starts. The Jaguars finished atop the AFC South with a 10–6 record and made the playoffs for the first time since 2007. Hurns was shutout in the Wild Card Round victory against the Buffalo Bills and only caught one pass in the Divisional Round victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. However, during the AFC Championship Game against the New England Patriots, he recorded six receptions for 80 yards as the Jaguars lost on the road by a score of 24–20. Hurns' 80 yards were the most receiving yards by a Jaguar in the playoffs since Matt Jones in 2006.

On March 20, 2018, Hurns was released by the Jaguars.

Dallas Cowboys
On March 23, 2018, Hurns signed a two-year contract with the Dallas Cowboys worth up to $12 million. He changed his jersey number to 17 to honor the Parkland Shooting victims.

During the season, Hurns was expected to be the main starter as part of a wide-receiver-by-committee approach. He was a backup behind Terrance Williams in the season-opening 16–8 road loss to the Carolina Panthers, where he had a 20-yard reception. Hurns was named the starter over Williams in the next game against the New York Giants, where he caught a nine-yard reception in the 20–13 victory. Three weeks later against the Houston Texans, Hurns scored his first touchdown of the season on a three-yard pass from Dak Prescott as the Cowboys lost on the road in overtime by a score of 19–16.

Hurns' production and effectiveness decreased as he was used very sparingly in the latter half of the season, losing his starting position after the Cowboys traded a 2019 first-round draft choice to the Oakland Raiders in exchange for Amari Cooper on October 22, to take over the number one receiver role and also gave more playing time to rookie Michael Gallup. During a Week 9 28–14 loss to the Tennessee Titans, Hurns had a 23-yard touchdown reception near the end of the first half. In the regular-season finale against the Giants, he had a 49-yard reception as the Cowboys narrowly won on the road by a score of 36–35.

Hurns finished the regular season setting career-lows in receptions with 20 and receiving yards with 295 while tying a career-low in receiving touchdowns with two in 16 games and seven starts. The Cowboys finished atop the NFC East with a 10–6 record and qualified for the playoffs. On January 5, 2019, Hurns started in his first playoff game in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs against the Seattle Seahawks. However, Hurns left the narrow 24–22 victory in the first quarter after suffering a serious ankle injury from a tackle by safety Bradley McDougald while making a 14-yard catch. Hurns' left foot was turned 90 degrees outward as he laid on the ground and had to be popped back into place by doctors. It was later revealed that Hurns suffered a dislocated ankle and a broken fibula, forcing him to miss the rest of the playoffs. He was placed on injured reserve on January 8, 2019.

On July 23, 2019, Hurns was released by the Cowboys due to salary cap reasons, after the team asked him to reduce his salary and he declined.

2019 season
On July 26, 2019, Hurns signed a one-year deal with the Miami Dolphins, his hometown team. During a Week 8 14–27 road loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, he caught his first touchdown of the season on a 12-yard reception from Ryan Fitzpatrick. In Week 9, he became the team's No. 2 receiver after rookie Preston Williams suffered a torn ACL. On November 16, 2019, Hurns signed a two-year extension with the Dolphins worth $8 million with $3.27 million guaranteed.

Hurns finished his first season with the Dolphins with 32 receptions for 416 yards and two touchdowns in 14 games and seven starts.

2020 season
On August 4, 2020, Hurns announced that he would opt-out of the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

2021 season
On August 17, 2021, Hurns was placed on season-ending injured reserve with a wrist injury. On March 24, 2022, he was released by the Dolphins with a failed physical designation.