Jalen Hurts’ Eagles future: Is his job safe past 2026?
The temperature around Jalen Hurts always seems a few degrees higher than it probably should be. That comes with the territory when you’re the quarterback of the Philadelphia Eagles; this is to be expected. In this city, you either progress toward legendary status or slide toward scrutiny. There is rarely an intermediary. Maybe so, but more often than not, Birds fans and the media that cover the team they love are usually faced with extremes.
What makes Hurts fascinating is how quickly the narrative can swing one way or the other. Not long ago, he lifted the Lombardi Trophy and collected Super Bowl MVP honors.
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A few months later, his leadership was undisputed. A year later, we resume the discussion on job security. His clutch gene has been validated. Why is it so difficult to solidify it as a cornerstone of the franchise or validate anything else?
Part of the problem is an uneven season and another Wild Card playoff exit, his third in five seasons. This time, however, Philadelphia lost as a home favorite.
That’s why a recent article from ESPN deserves attention. In his article “Predicting the NFL’s 32 Starting Quarterbacks for the 2026 Season,” Hurts is, of course, projected as Philadelphia’s starter. There’s no surprise, but Seth Walder, the author of this one, decides to add a warning label.
The tone surrounding this one is certainly worth noting.
“Hurts is just a year away from being a Super Bowl MVP quarterback, but his stock has plummeted after a poor 2025 season in which he ranked just 20th in QBR. If he doesn’t improve in 2026, will we put him in a different category in this exercise next year? Given the Eagles’ track record, I bet he does.”
That doesn’t sound like praise. It feels a lot more like pressure.
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Ranking 20th in QBR isn’t disastrous, but it’s certainly not elite either, and “elite” must now be Jalen Hurts’ bar. He makes too much money to be anywhere near “average”, whether that’s fair or not.
Once you win a championship and get paid like a franchise quarterback, consistency becomes non-negotiable. The margin for regression is narrowing. This is why the reference to the Eagles’ “track record” cannot be considered accidental.
This organization has shown that it will make bold decisions if it believes the cap is going down. They left Donovan McNabb and Carson Wentz. Feeling rarely trumps performance. The balanced reality is that Hurts has earned time, but that time might not extend beyond next season.
The 2026 regular season now becomes pivotal. More importantly, 2026 is the last year of guaranteed money for Hurts on the five-year, $255 million contract he signed two years ago. There’s a new offensive coordinator in town, and the conversation goes from “Can he win it all?” has “Can he dominate at a consistent level? This is a stricter standard. Championships have become part of the Eagles’ DNA, and this city is already missing another one.
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This article originally appeared on Eagles Wire: Jalen Hurts could be in the starting seat heading into the 2026 NFL season.
