The Eagles’ 2026 season has been one from hell.
The injury report grows ever longer each day, the offense is a predictable mess, and the defense lacks a league-average pass rush.
Yet today, the Eagles were dealt the biggest blow to their season: Jalen Hurts will miss the remainder of the season with multiple blood clots in his lungs.
While Philadelphia knew of the blood clot in his calf prior to the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, the severity of the news is jarring.
When exactly did they know the extent of Hurts’ injury? More importantly, who made the decision to play Hurts?
Hurts’ play this season has been erratic. He was masterful in weeks one and two despite schematic struggles on offense. Then, after being briefly removed from the game after a hit to the head in week 3, the Eagles offense took a nosedive.
The blood clot issue arose after taking a cleat to the calf during the week 4 loss to the Rams. Then the team traveled to London for their week 5 matchup against the Jaguars. What followed is the most confounding part of the Hurts injury.
Hurts’ agent, Nicole Lynn, later clarified through Tom Pelissero that Hurts was up until early that Sunday getting evaluated at the hospital and was able to get at least a little sleep at the stadium in London just before the game.
Despite repeated questions from the media, Nick Sirianni was unable to offer any meaningful clarity as to whose decision it was to play Hurts or provide any information on the sequence of events that led to Hurts’ increasingly negative diagnosis.
The damage is done, however, and the Eagles need to think of next steps. This season is lost.
Given the immense amount of roster turnover the Eagles sustained during the season, they should take the time to evaluate the young players on their roster, particularly along the offensive line. Is Markel Bell the answer at right tackle? Can Drew Kendall be the franchise center moving forward? Can Willie Lampkin remain at left guard for the foreseeable future?
On defense, who should the Eagles prioritize when considering extensions? Quinyon Mitchell has put together a great season so far, but Cooper DeJean has not quite looked like the player he was during his first two seasons.
The diminished expectations for the 2026 seasons also provides the coaching staff with the opportunity to try new things on offense. The structure of the offense has been dreadful, historically so. Perhaps with no expectations for the remainder of the season—and seats getting ever hotter—the staff can be more creative in putting together an NFL-caliber structure that can support Hurts upon his (hopeful) return next season.
Finally, expect the Eagles to sell some of their short-term players leading up to this season’s trade deadline. Some obvious trade candidates are players in contract seasons: Riq Woolen, Dallas Goedert, Fred Johnson, Arnold Ebikete, Tyler Steen, Moro Ojomo, etc. Depending on Howie Roseman’s assessment of how quickly this team can retool, they could shop some more valuable players with a few years left on their deals.
The worst-case scenario is the Eagles lose enough to earn a top ten selection in the 2027 NFL Draft, yet win an embarrassingly weak NFC East. They would immediately vault themselves into the bottom 14 selections due to a playoff berth. With so many young players set for extensions, it is imperative that Howie Roseman replenish the roster with cost-controlled, talented players through the draft.
The Eagles have some decisions to make.
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