Eagles Can't Order Up A Sequel To Revisionism

PHILADELPHIA - Silly season has arrived, and the Philadelphia Eagles are typically at the center of that universe, something tied to a veteran GM who doesn't mind seizing the moment.

The talk surrounding the Eagles this year is expected to be elevated even further after significant moves on the offensive coaching staff have foreshadowed a dramatic shift toward a Kyle Shanahan-style offense.

Things picked up earlier this week, when ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported that many decision-makers around the league believe the Eagles could pick a quarterback on Day 2 of the 2026 NFL Draft with the sentiment being to “apply a little bit of pressure” on QB1 Jalen Hurts, who Fowler added is at a “crossroads” with the organization.

So where do we start?

There's a chance that the Eagles will draft a quarterback on Day 2 and almost certainly will by the end of the draft. However, that mindset is tied to Howie Roseman’s Ron Wolf-inspired mantra of taking a QB every year if you get the opportunity, something rooted in the idea of player development and constantly feeding the pipeline for the game's most important position.

Remember, the Eagles selected Kyle McCord last year in the sixth round. McCord spent the season as the Eagles’ QB4 on the practice squad before signing a futures deal with Green Bay.

Meanwhile, things are amped up even further this time around because backup Tanner McKee is entering the final year of his rookie deal, and QB3, Sam Howell, is an unrestricted free agent who will likely be looking for a QB2 job on the open market.

Limited Options

LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, the son of former Eagles' QB coach and now Saints offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier, is considered the best Day-2 option in a weak quarterback class.

Nussmeier is a player Philadelphia has liked in the past, but with so few potential QB options in Round 1, the guess here is Nussmeier is pushed up the board and never makes it to the Eagles' orbit.

The sizzle behind Fowler's report was the idea that Hurts is at a "crossroads" with the team one year after being the Super Bowl MVP.

Of course, you could also debate that the entire team, starting with head coach Nick Sirianni, is at a crossroads with the Eagles treating an 11-win season and a one-and-done playoff exit in the wild card round like it was a five-win disaster.

Where things derailed was comping the idea to the Carson Wentz-Jalen Hurts dichotomy in the 2020 draft when the latter was taken in the second round despite Wentz's status as the franchise quarterback less than 18 months off of a monster extension.

That's all revisionist, however.

Hurts was never selected to push Wentz or even apply a little bit of pressure. The Eagles simply value the backup QB more than most, and Roseman believed the veteran backup QB market was getting a bit too pricey, so the idea was to secure a cost-effective backup who perhaps could be spun off down the line for value.

The unintended consequences, namely Wentz taking the Hurts selection too personally, derailed the original plan, ultimately sparking Hurts' ascent to one of the game's top signal callers who has directed the Eagles to five consecutive playoff berths, two NFC championships, and a Super Bowl LIX win.

The Eagles hardly push back on the revisionism either, happy to accept the flowers for a great contingency plan.

However, if you doubt the context due to the current default setting of the discussion, consider that when Sirianni was hired in 2021 much of the interview was spent talking about how the coach could get Wentz back on track, and as late as the spring before the 2022 season, the Eagles were trying to get the attention of quarterbacks Deshaun Watson and Russell Wilson.

No one in the Philadelphia brass is thinking about a sequel to that process, absent a similar result, regardless of the original intent, if Hurts is in decline

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