The Philadelphia Eagles will be without Jalen Hurts for at least one game and possibly more as the team’s starting quarterback is treated for a “small blood clot.”
NFL insider Ian Rapoport said Hurts is “out indefinitely.”
We are all rooting for his health to improve.
In the meantime, the Eagles have to navigate the rest of the 2026 season.
So, what will they do?
Tanner McKee is set to start against the Carolina Panthers despite a tumultuous offseason.
The 2026 offseason began with McKee coming off a less-than-exciting Week 18 showing where the Eagles rested their starters before the playoffs. Some thought McKee, who had previously flashed in limited preseason and regular season game action, could beat the Washington Commanders in that regular season finale.
He didn’t play much, logging a 68.9 passer rating.
In fairness, he is made even better when DeVonta Smith is in the game early to help put him over 1,000 receiving yards last season. And then it got worse when Smith left. And even thought he was going up against a bad and injured Washington team, they still had actual NFL starters playing while the Eagles barely did.
This less than stellar performance seemed to shake the Eagles’ confidence in McKee as the team decided to trade Andy Dalton. At first, it was thought that Dalton was brought in just to be the Eagles’ third quarterback (though the team back-channeled many of the reporters).
But OTAs began and Dalton took most of the second-team QB reps. At the time, the Eagles insisted they were rotating QB2 reps between Dalton and McKee. And that’s what we’ve seen happen in training camp and preseason games.
The problem: there was no clear winner by the time the regular season rolled around. Both players struggled to play well, perhaps in part because they rotated reps instead of enjoying more consistency.
Leading into Week 1, the Eagles were still splitting QB2 reps. But then it was made clear that Dalton was Hurts’ backup with the Eagles assigning McKee the emergency third quarterback.
Dalton was thrust into action during the Eagles’ Week 3 loss to the Chicago Bears. The Eagles shouldn’t have asked him to throw the ball in a goal-to-go situation but they did and his only pass of the game was picked off by a rookie safety. Makai Lemon ran the wrong route on the play but it was a terrible decision by a veteran quarterback who turned 39 in late October.
Following Week 3, the Eagles decided to change things up and make McKee the QB2 again, as he should have been. While McKee didn’t do enough to clear the outplay on Dalton in the offseason, he has shown promise in the past and Dalton has often been stunned since joining the Eagles. He hasn’t been good for the Carolina Panthers in 2025 either.
It’s not easy to imagine McKee improving this Sunday. The Eagles offense wasn’t great before the injury issues but those problems certainly didn’t help start a turnaround. McKee appears to be without DeVonta Smith and Saquon Barkley. He will also play behind an offensive line that looks like this:
- LT Jordan Mailata
- LG Willie Lampkin? Landon Dickerson?
- C Jake Majors?
- RG Tyler Steen
- RT Markel Bell
It will be interesting to see if there is any noticeable difference in style between Sean Mannion calling the game for Hurts versus McKee. But, again, I don’t expect the results to suddenly be good.
Although, if you’re looking for reason for optimism, the Panthers’ defense might be a bit much to get. They clashed at cornerback with starters Jaycee Horn and Mike Jackson both on injured reserve.
Cole Payton could eventually warrant some playing time.
Honestly, there’s a strong case to be made that the Eagles should start Payton now.
They probably won’t do that.
Although not like McKee has tons of experience (just two career starts), he’s the more proven option than a Day 3 rookie from the 2026 NFL Draft.
But McKee will also be a free agent after this season. Perhaps the Eagles feel they can show him off a bit more before trading him before the 2026 NFL trade deadline. Or maybe they feel McKee can factor into their compensatory pick formula by signing with a new team in 2027 NFL free agency.
But maybe McKee isn’t that good and really has nothing to learn from playing subpar quarterback in the final year of his contract.
Conversely, Payton could be a long-term factor for this team, whether it’s as a backup or a starter (more likely the former than the latter).
Payton offered some intrigue in offseason practices and limited preseason action. He has a tendency to be overly aggressive, so, there can be a lot of turnovers and growing pains. But there is some level of admiration to be had for how fearless he is. Plus, he can run at least a little bit.
If the Eagles admit that 2026 isn’t their only season, they should play Payton.
At the very least, they should have Payton as their backup behind McKee.
Reporting suggests the Eagles could bring back Andy Dalton. There’s really no good reason to do that. The case is that he gives the Eagles a better chance to win now than Payton. The problem is that it’s not really true. And there’s nothing to be learned from Dalton’s play if the season is truly lost. I think the Eagles and a lot of fans don’t want to throw in the towel yet.
But, for the good of the team moving forward, it is most beneficial for them to be honest about their vision for 2026 and focus on the future.
Which brings us to our next point…
The Eagles should shift their focus beyond the 2026 season.
BGN alumnus Jimmy Kempski recently did what I saw a very strong case for the Eagles to punt in the 2026 season.
To be clear, no one is rationally suggesting that the Eagles should ACTIVELY try to lose games. It’s not about tanking. It’s about not making decisions solely focused on maximizing wins in 2026. It’s about taking a long-term view and being willing to sell players before the 2026 NFL trade deadline if there are strong offers to be accepted. It’s also about finding playing time for players who can be long-term contributors … as opposed to any overreliance on stop-gap veterans who won’t be here after this season.
The Eagles being bad this year doesn’t have to be a bad thing for them in 2027, especially if they play their cards right on this stretch.
Yes, the Eagles are just a few games away from being 4-1. But they haven’t played well this season:
The NFC East might be bad enough for the Eagles to win an ugly division, even with Hurts missing time. But just making the playoffs shouldn’t be the goal for this team. They should (and usually do) strive for legitimate championship contention. I’m sorry but they just aren’t winning the Super Bowl this year.