The Philadelphia Eagles' main focus right now is ensuring quarterback Jalen Hurts is healthy and recovering from a blood clot that started in his calf. Still, his future has become a topic of discussion again.
Hurts injured his calf in the Eagles' Week 4 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. However, after doctors found a superficial blood clot in his calf, he still traveled to London, went to the hospital the night before the game, and played in the Week 5 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. He has since been ruled out for the season, as the blood clot has been moved into his lungs, but is expected to make a full recovery.
While the Eagles will conduct a full investigation into how the Eagles handled Hurts' injury, questions about his future with the team have been raised. The Eagles could go, but they must make the right choice.
Jalen Hurts' future with the Eagles has been brought up and questioned
This conversation grew out of a recent ESPN article by Dan Graziano and Jeremy Fowler that shared what they have been hearing around the NFL. Graziano and Fowler were asked about the most intriguing quarterback contract situation entering the 2027 offseason. Hurts was right at the top of the list, with some interesting commentary from the ESPN reporters.
"Graziano: I recognize that there are far more important real-life situations going on around this player right now, but for me, it's the Eagles' Jalen Hurts. He is signed through 2028, but the only guaranteed money left on his contract after this season will be $22 million of his $51.5 million salary in 2027. Regardless of how this season was to play out for Hurts and the Eagles, there was always going to be an offseason discussion about whether to extend him again -- and if so, at what level -- or look into other options.
The Eagles have some young stars coming up for extensions pretty soon, including cornerbacks Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean, and carrying a huge quarterback salary beyond this year is going to get more difficult. It's fair to wonder what impact Hurts being out for the rest of the season will have on the Eagles' decision-making.
Fowler: Hurts belongs high on the list, as it's worth wondering whether he has played his last down as an Eagle. He is 59-28 as a starter for the franchise, but Philadelphia, which is often proactive with contracts of core players, did not extend Hurts last offseason. So, it's difficult to pinpoint where things will stand three to four months from now."
Hurts' contract runs through the 2028 season, but the cap hit is what has everyone talking. The Eagles will take a $42.1 million cap hit in 2027 and $47.5 million in 2028.
An extension would help spread that cap hit out and reduce it, so they can sign other players like Mitchell and DeJean to long-term deals. If the Eagles trade or release Hurts before June 1, 2027, they face significant cap release losses. They can only move on Hurts after June 1, when they would save $11 million.
Eagles have two paths they can take with Jalen Hurts with one right answer
Everyone is floating the idea that the Eagles could trade or cut Hurts, as they did with A.J. Brown over the last two years. The reality is that Philly would be stupid to do that, since they don't want to take on any more of a cap hit, given what they have with Brown and other departing players.
A trade after June 1 is possible, but the dead cap would be astronomically high and would financially devastate the franchise's future. That leaves the Eagles with one sensible solution: restructure his contract or give him an extension with an out so that he stays one more season.
The Eagles need to do something about Hurts' contract, no matter what. They can either restructure it to reduce the cap hit and give him more money upfront to make him happy or give him a massive contract extension. With the extension, though, the Eagles could build in a 2028 out that would make it easy to get out if they wanted to.
No matter what happens, Hurts needs to start at quarterback for this team in 2027. If they want to draft a quarterback high in the draft to be his eventual replacement, so be it. Letting him go, though, makes no sense, since they won't have a good backup plan.
Read more: Eagles free agent check-in: Tanner McKee building his value, Arnold Ebiketie steps up
Keeping Hurts is the best course of action, but get a contract in place that makes their quarterback happy financially while leaving the door open for a divorce in 2028. It may not be the prettiest, but it will help the Eagles out and make them more comfortable keeping their three-time Pro Bowler and Super Bowl MVP QB.
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