McMullen: Examining the Crossroads For Eagles' Jalen Hurts After A Shaky Spring

PHILADELPHIA — Unique is the word I keep coming back to when describing Jalen Hurts’ game.

The Eagles’ sixth-year starting quarterback has built an impressive resume in just five seasons as the QB1 in Philadelphia: five straight postseason appearances, two NFC Championships, a Lombardi Trophy, three Pro Bowls, a near-MVP season with a second-team All-Pro nod in 2022, and a Super Bowl MVP performance less than two years ago.

By any objective measure, that’s a high level of success. Yet, Hurts remains a polarizing figure — not just on sports-talk radio, but inside the industry itself.

The reason is simple: the projected money moving forward and the demonstrated performance in the rearview mirror may no longer be lining up the way they once did.

Difficult Decisions

Eagles GM Howie Roseman speaks to reporters after the 2026 NFL Draft. | John McMullen/Eagles On SI

With just $22 million in guarantees remaining on his current deal for 2027, this upcoming season is effectively Hurts’ final audition before Howie Roseman and Eagles brass must decide whether to commit to a new contract that could push $60 million per season from an average-annual-value standpoint.

That’s an enormous investment for a passing game that has trended downward since 2022 and an offense now also dealing with a significant downtick in Hurts' performance as the plus-one in the running game.

Hurts also didn’t have a strong spring either — though to be fair, none of the Eagles quarterbacks did as the offense began its transition to a Shanahan/McVay-style scheme under new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion.

Plenty of context should be added there including Hurts adjusting to a new coordinator/play-caller in Mannion and another new position coach (Parks Frazier). The signal-caller's top projected weapons in the post-A.J. Brown era were in and out: DeVonta Smith left early for wedding prep, and first-round rookie Makai Lemon missed significant time with a hamstring injury.

Most importantly, Hurts was going up against Vic Fangio’s proven defense — a talented unit with 40 years of Fangio’s experience fueling it versus the 40 minutes Mannion has been on the job.

In other words, the defense was supposed to be ahead of the offense early in the process.

No one should be hitting the panic button yet.

The encouraging signs? Hurts appears fully bought into the scheme changes. He now has valuable “time on task” to install concepts that were forced on him in-season last year and resulted in some pushback with limited preparation.

And the QB1’s history highlights that he excels when doubted. From college through the NFL, Hurts has consistently elevated his play when questions swirl around him.

The problem with that latter point for Roseman is a chip on Hurts' shoulder isn’t a sustainable long-term development plan. That fire won’t automatically burn as bright in 2027 or the subsequent years if everything clicks this fall.

Pulling the plug on a proven, successful NFL quarterback is scary in any city. See Sam Darnold in Minnesota last season where 14 wins turned into the GM losing his job with the Vikings as Darnold relocated to Seattle and won a Super Bowl.

This league remains QB-deficient, and betting that the next guy will match Hurts’ production in Philadelphia feels like unabashed optimism.

At the same time, the oldest truth in talent evaluation remains the idea of it's always better to move on a year too early than a year too late.

Buckle up. The 2026 season won’t just decide Hurts’ future in Philadelphia — it will define the next window for this entire franchise.

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