Insider explains how Eagles could part ways with Jalen Hurts

The Philadelphia Eagles seemingly are moving forward with Nick Sirianni as their head coach following the club's collapse during the second half of this season, but Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio mentioned that Philadelphia theoretically can afford to move on from quarterback Jalen Hurts this offseason.

Hurts signed a five-year contract extension reportedly worth up to $255M with $179.3M guaranteed last spring. 

"The cap hit for a pre-June 1 trade would be only $18.632M for 2024," Florio wrote about the Eagles shipping Hurts out of Philadelphia. "He’d then be off the books for 2025." 

Hurts' agreement also carries a full no-trade clause. 

According to ESPN stats, Hurts finished the 2023 regular season ranked 12th among qualified players with a 60.0 adjusted QBR, 15th with a 65.4% completion percentage and tied for 13th with 23 passing touchdowns. While he was also tied for second among all players with 15 rushing scores, only two quarterbacks tossed more interceptions than Hurts (15). 

Hurts' numbers tell only a portion of the story regarding why the Eagles could at least consider asking if he'd waive his no-trade clause to join a different club. Per Paul Kasabian of Bleacher Report, Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer reported shortly ahead of Christmas that some within the Eagles felt the club needed Hurts "to not isolate himself as much when a more outward leadership style is necessary, especially when the going gets tough." 

More recently, Joseph Santoliquito of Bleeding Green Nation wrote this past weekend that "sources within and around the team say Jalen Hurts 'changed' since signing the big $255M contract extension." 

Santoliquito added that "sources close to and around the team say Hurts should have been a better leader -- and is capable of being a better leader." 

As it pertains to any club potentially interested in acquiring Hurts, Florio noted that the 25-year-old's contract includes $82M in fully guaranteed money over the next two years and $133M over the next three. Such figures aren't deal-breakers in a world where it's commonly joked that the NFL salary cap isn't as "real" as many believe it to be. 

While there's currently zero indication the Eagles would try to move on from Hurts before this year's draft, things often change quickly in the NFL. Less than two years ago, the Cleveland Browns reportedly had no chance of landing quarterback Deshaun Watson from the Houston Texans until a fully guaranteed five-year, $230M contract helped change his mind.