Passing Game Pressure: Jalen Hurts Faces Prove-It Season With The Eagles

PHILADELPHIA - The Eagles are where they usually are in May: a perceived contender about to kick off on-field OTAs with enormous expectations.

This year, a greater sense of uncertainty surrounds the typical equation, however.

In the Jalen Hurts era, the quarterback sits at the center of it, facing what's been described as a crossroads season for the Super Bowl LIX MVP.

Never a high-volume thrower, the absence of a consistent running game exposed inefficiencies in the passing game with Hurts at the helm. He has now posted consecutive seasons with a passing game ranked in the bottom third of the league.

That resulted in the most significant change to the offensive coaching staff since Nick Sirianni arrived in Philadelphia. Outsider Sean Mannion takes over as offensive coordinator, replacing longtime Sirianni confidant Kevin Patullo. The team also added minds like Josh Grizzard and Jerrod Johnson, while reshuffling the deck with Parks Frazier stepping in as quarterbacks coach for Scott Loeffler.

What's Going On?

Loeffler, Hurts' deposed position coach, continued working with Hurts in the offseason - a move that might have been a passive-aggressive signal toward an organization that appears comfortable letting Hurts enter the 2026 season without a contract extension.

That's important because this is the final year of significant guarantees in Hurts' current deal. The quarterback has just $22 million guaranteed in 2027, meaning the Eagles will have to make a decision after this season.

Others around the league see the landscape clearly.

"Polarizing player," an AFC executive told ESPN's Jeremy Fowler. "And as his running ability starts to decline, his value will decline, too. [Eagles GM Howie] Roseman will always be proactive with finding solutions."

The Eagles' reputation matters here. In some cities, playing it safe is business as usual. In Philadelphia, being proactive is part of the organization's DNA.

Since the Joe Banner days, the Eagles have preferred to act early when they believe in a player - the idea being that waiting only costs you more money. That's exactly what they did when they signed Hurts to his current extension in April 2023, briefly making him the highest-paid player in NFL history.

By hesitating now, the organization is sending a clear signal: they want to see how Hurts adapts to their belief that more under-center and play-action work is needed to restore efficiency to the passing game.

If Hurts succeeds, the Eagles will pay a tax for their current lack of conviction.

That's neither right nor wrong - it's simply where the organization stands.

Action -- or is this case, lack of action -- speaks louder than words. For the first time since the spring of 2022, the Eagles aren't quite sure what they have in Jalen Hurts.

This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/eagles/onsi as Passing Game Pressure: Jalen Hurts Faces Prove-It Season With The Eagles .

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This story was originally published May 14, 2026 at 11:30 AM.