Why Jalen Hurts' blood clot situation makes future with Eagles more uncertain

Speculation arose earlier this year that Philadelphia Eagles general manager Howie Roseman could hit a figurative reset button and part ways with both quarterback Jalen Hurts and head coach Nick Sirianni if the club endured a disappointing 2026 season.

Of course, those whispers surfaced before it was learned this week that Hurts will miss the remainder of the campaign after doctors discovered multiple blood clots in his lungs. For a piece published on Wednesday, NFL insiders Dan Graziano and Jeremy Fowler of ESPN addressed questions about Hurts' future with the Eagles. 

"Fair to wonder" if Eagles will move on from Jalen Hurts? 

"[Hurts] is signed through 2028, but the only guaranteed money left on his contract after this year will be $22M of his $51.5M salary in 2027," Graziano explained. "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."

Before Hurts began missing games this fall, he hadn't flourished as hoped while playing under first-year Eagles offensive coordinator Sean Mannion. Specifically, Pro Football Reference shows that Hurts began Wednesday ranked 19th in the NFL among qualified players with a 56.5 adjusted QBR and 22nd with an 84.7 passer rating for the season. 

Meanwhile, the Eagles are 2-4 and could become a selling team ahead of the Nov. 10 trade deadline. Such moves could signal that Roseman is ready to embrace a roster restructuring that could involve parting ways with Hurts at some point before training-camp practices get underway next summer. 

"Difficult" to guess if Jalen Hurts will be an Eagles player at this time next year

"It's worth wondering whether [Hurts] has played his last down as an Eagle," Fowler added. "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."

The Eagles and Hurts' agent "anticipate that he will have the opportunity to resume contact football activities when off the blood thinners." It sounds like there's a legitimate chance that he will do so while with a different team next year.