Jalen

Hurts

Fowler and Eagles beat writer Tim McManus quoted several team sources who were highly critical of Hurts following a disappointing 2025 season in which Hurts ranked 16th out of 40 qualifying QBs in EPA per drop back and 26th in drop back success rate, just ahead of Bryce Young and behind Jacoby Brissett. “Poor body language, not always bought in, not the most coachable and the players notice,” one source told ESPN, describing Hurts as resistant to suggestions and tweaks to the Philadelphia offense. “Though there is plenty of blame to spread, Hurts has had a hand in the offense becoming calcified,” the sources told Fowler and McManus. “He has pushed back on changes that would diversify the scheme, sources said, including when it comes to him going under center more. He has shown a reluctance to let it rip at times, particularly against zone coverage. He diverts from the game plan and changes play calls to what some feel is an excessive degree.” New Eagles OC Sean Mannion is expected to head a “dramatic overhaul” of the stale Philly offense that would presumably mean Hurts will have to be open to fundamental changes. We’ll see if that leads to tension and conflict for an Eagles team that was among the NFL’s most toxic in 2025.

Under head coach Nick Sirianni and new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion, a former NFL quarterback, Lurie said the Eagles would make the tweaks necessary to bounce back after a down 2025 campaign. “This year, it was really apparent to everybody, but especially I would say to our head coach that we were able and going to make some significant offensive changes that would get us back to being a championship-level offense,” Lurie said. “We have our own proprietary metrics and ways of measuring offensive and defensive performance, and our offense was not what we were either accustomed to or expected of.” The usually-efficient Philadelphia offense last season ranked 17th in EPA per play, behind teams like the Commanders and Giants. Jalen Hurts’ passing efficiency fell off big time, as the Eagles were 15th in adjusted yards per pass attempt, in line with the Falcons and Texans.

Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts fumbled on a tush push attempt in Philadelphia’s 24-15, Week 13 loss to the Bears. He told reporters after the game that it is “becoming tougher and tougher” to run the play. Teams are having more success against it, defensively, than they did previously, while others have begun successfully running it themselves. Several teams turned to using it with tight ends, most notably Seahawks TE AJ Barner moonlighted as a tush push quarterback this season. Barner picked up one touchdown and nine first downs on 11 rushing attempts across the full NFL season. Connor Heyward (Steelers) and Cade Stover (Texans) also ran the play a non-trivial amount of times in 2025. It is still possible for teams to submit a ban proposal, but at this point, McKay does not “envision it” happening this offseason.

While it’s a lateral move on the surface, Doyle doesn’t call plays in Chicago and would do so in Philly. That also means that the Bears can’t turn down the Eagles’ request to interview Doyle. Chicago finished the year ninth in points per game and made their deepest playoff run since 2010. Most importantly, Caleb Williams showed drastic improvement in his second season after Ben Johnson and Doyle took over the offense. The Eagles would hope to get a similar turnaround from Jalen Hurts, who is coming off a career-low in yards per attempt.

Hurts still has three years left on the five-year, $255 million extension he signed in 2023, but according to Silver, “NFL sources familiar with the Eagles’ organizational mindset believe they might draft a quarterback this spring.” This wouldn’t be the first time we’ve seen the Eagles use a high-end draft pick to rug pull a franchise quarterback already on a lucrative deal. Back in 2020, the team shocked everyone when they used a second-round pick on Hurts to eventually serve as the replacemnent for Carson Wentz, who had just signed a four-year, $128 million contract extension in 2019. Hurts and the Eagles struggled mightily on offense. The switch from offensive coordinator Kellen Moore to Kevin Patullo didn’t go as planned, and the team has already moved to improve on their play-calling situation next season by removing Patullo from that role. It would still be surprising to see the Eagles move on from Hurts after one down season after he lead the team to a Super Bowl title in 2024, but given the Eagles’ history of how they manage the quarterback position, this will remain something to watch leading up to draft day.

After firing offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo following a mostly disastrous 2025 season, the Eagles should seek “a fresh set of eyes” to reevaluate the Philly offense and how it utilizes its skill position players, Murphy said. McDaniel, who designed and called plays for a Miami offense that ranked among the NFL’s most efficient from 2022 to 2024 — before the team’s 2025 collapse. Eagles players, including DeVonta Smith, said after the team’s Wild Card loss to the 49ers that the offensive scheme had not changed at all in recent years despite the Eagles shuffling through offensive coordinators. That suggests the problem lies with head coach Nick Sirianni. “Howie Roseman and Jeffrey Lurie pride themselves on being ahead of the curve. They’d rather be a year early than a year late,” Murphy said. “Right now, it is getting late early. McDaniel or not, they need a new voice, an inventive mind, and a fresh set of eyes. Anybody else will end up right where Patullo is. And that’s not fair to anybody.”

It’s a performance the Eagles’ oft-debated signal caller would like to have back. Facing one of the league’s worst defenses, Hurts generated his fewest passing yards since ... Week 17. It was the culmination of a quiet finish to the year. Hurts heads into the offseason averaging just 160 yards over his final four appearances. Part of that is by design in this conservative, run-based offense, but you need to do better when you have A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert at your disposal. Then again, Brown had another crippling drop, this time late in the fourth quarter. If Hurts failed to make big plays, so did his weapons. 2025 was Hurts’ least effective year on the ground since his rookie campaign in 2020. Going on age 28, you do wonder if all Hurts’ lower-body hits might already be catching up with him. With the Eagles likely to fire OC Kevin Patullo, Hurts figures to have another voice in his ear next season. Despite this year’s disappointment and signs of trouble, Hurts will remain a top-five fantasy quarterback until proven otherwise.

Johnson sustained a Lisfranc fracture in mid-November but could suit up for Wild Card Weekend, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane. “Johnson has made progress in his recovery, but still has to test his right foot before the team makes a decision on his availability for Sunday’s wild card game vs. the 49ers,” McLane said. The team’s offense fell apart with Johnson sidelined as they finished the season 3-4. The Eagles are now 18-28 in games Johnson hasn’t played during his 13-year NFL career. His presence would go a long way in helping the Philly offense find its footing in the postseason. He was officially limited on Wednesday.

McLane’s report comes on the heels of a report from NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo Tuesday essentially saying the same thing. The Eagles could earn the No. 2 seed in the NFC with a win and a Bears loss to the Lions, but it appears they’ll try to move up with Tanner McKee under center rather than Hurts. For fantasy managers still playing for something in Week 18, McKee and Tank Bigsby would be the top waiver wire priorities.

The Eagles could climb as high as the No. 2 seed in the NFC with a victory and a Lions win over Chicago, and Garafolo believes they could beat Washington with some of their key starters resting for the postseason. That could include Jalen Hurts, which would mean Tanner McKee could see significant playing time against a Commanders defense being bludgeoned by opposing QBs. If Saquon Barkley sits, Tank Bigsby — who has been ultra efficient as an Eagle — could see a full workload against the Swiss cheese Washington run defense. It’s a situation to monitor for fantasy managers playing in Week 18 championships.