It’s not always sunny in Philadelphia.
On Wednesday morning, a damning report was published by ESPN, detailing how Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts has been a source of frustration for the franchise.
“Poor body language, not always bought in, not the most coachable and the players notice,” one person told ESPN about Hurts, who the story noted tends to be closed off, “continually fights” being under center and has “pushed back on changes” to the team’s offensive scheme. The report notes that Hurt is viewed as a primary catalyst for Philadelphia’s offense becoming “calcified” and that he “has shown a reluctance to let it rip at times, particularly against zone coverage.”
Moreover, just months after the Eagles won Super Bowl LIX in 2025, Hurts’ character and the way he rubs off on those around him was labeled a “disaster.”
What’s really going on here?
“This is exactly what I was told [about Hurts by a source]. And when does the truth come out? When people think their jobs are in trouble; when people get replaced; when people are somewhere, get blamed for something, and they’re out of town; they move to another job, then they’ll talk. This is a reporter I trust, I was told this is starting to feel very like Russell Wilson with the Seattle Seahawks,” Colin Cowherd said on Wednesday’s edition of “The Herd,” “where the quarterback, who has critics, is getting all the credit and the roster’s stacked, and when they do infrequently lose, the roster gets the blame, and the quarterback doesn’t.”
Jalen Hurts ‘not always bought in;’ is he holding back the Eagles’ offense?
Last season, Philadelphia won the NFC East at 11-6 but proceeded to lose to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC wild-card round. In the regular season, Hurts totaled 3,224 passing yards, 25 passing touchdowns, six interceptions and a 98.5 passer rating, while completing 64.8% of his passes. He also rushed for 421 yards and eight touchdowns.
In all, Philadelphia’s offense was just 24th in the NFL in total yards (311.2 per game), 23rd in passing yards (194.3 per game), 19th in points (22.3 per game) and 18th in rushing yards (116.9 per game). Hurts’ relationship with star wide receiver A.J. Brown has continually come into question, especially after the latter told fans to “get rid” of him in fantasy football during the regular season; Brown, a three-time Pro Bowler, totaled 1,003 receiving yards in the 2025 regular season, his lowest mark since 2021.
Hurts, a Pro Bowler in three of the last four seasons, was the Super Bowl LIX MVP for the Eagles and has helped them reach two Super Bowls across his five seasons as their full-time starting quarterback (2022 and 2024 seasons). He signed a five-year, $255 million extension after the 2022 season.
Change has been a constant for the Eagles at offensive coordinator, as Philadelphia has a new offensive coordinator in former Green Bay Packers quarterbacks coach Sean Mannion, who replaces the outgoing Kevin Patullo — who was promoted to offensive coordinator for the 2025 season after Kellen Moore left his position following Super Bowl LIX to become the new head coach of the New Orleans Saints.
The year prior (2023), Brian Johnson was the Eagles’ offensive coordinator, replacing Shane Steichen, who was in the role from 2021-22 before leaving to become the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts.
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“Saquon Barkley didn’t get enough love, the D-Line and O-Line were dominating, but who got $255 million? Who’s getting the commercials? Who’s getting the magazine covers? It feels very Russell Wilson in Seattle,” Cowherd said of the Eagles. “And GM Howie Roseman [has been] very reluctant to trade [star wide receiver] A.J. Brown. I’ve been saying this for two years: ‘I don’t get it.’ Now, I do. [With] A.J. Brown, the general manager’s like, ‘Yeah, that’s not the issue,’ so the truth comes out.”
As for the comparison, Wilson was Seattle’s starting quarterback from 2012-21, highlighted by the Seahawks winning Super Bowl XLVIII. While Wilson was a Pro Bowler in nine of his 10 seasons in Seattle, the franchise also had one of the more iconic defenses in recent memory in the early portion of the quarterback’s career, highlighted by the “Legion of Boom” — a secondary that included star defensive backs Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas, Kam Chancellor and Byron Maxwell, among others.
Dating back to the four starts he made in his 2020 rookie season, the Eagles are a combined 57-25 in the regular season and 6-4 in the postseason with Hurts under center.
