Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts is 14 months removed from winning the Super Bowl MVP as they defeated the Kansas City Chiefs. While that should secure his future with the team, it appears otherwise. Details suggest Hurts and the Eagles are at an impasse over offensive direction and leadership.
Hurts and the Eagles are at a crossroads on playing under center more often, new schemes, and motion. The Eagles have been wanting to diversify the offense and better take advantage of their elite skill-position talent, but Hurts showed resistance, even in their 2024 Super Bowl-winning season.
NFL Draft Expert Lance Zierlein Thinks the Eagles Should Begin Looking for Hurts’ Eventual Replacement
This leads to the topic of Alabama’s Ty Simpson, who has emerged as one of the top quarterback prospects in the 2026 NFL Draft, a year not regarded as a strong class. He is projected to go in the mid-to-late first round of this month’s NFL Draft.
NFL.com draft expert Lance Zierlein went on “The Herd with Colin Cowherd” and discussed a potential scenario for the Eagles to select a possible replacement for Hurts.
“How about the Eagles being a potential team in the 2nd round? If they’re not happy with Jalen,” Zierlein said. “Jalen is under contract until 2028. Ty Simpson could sit there for 2 years and learn under Jalen. There’s not that much pressure for the first couple of years, and you get the Aaron Rodgers treatment. Wouldn’t that be nice?”
Simpson started only one year at Alabama, going 11-4 with 3,567 yards, 28 touchdowns, and five interceptions, completing 64.5 percent of his passes. He was named second-team All-Southeastern Conference.
Philadelphia’s History of Moving on From Franchise Quarterbacks
Philadelphia has a history of moving on from Pro Bowl quarterbacks such as Donovan McNabb, Michael Vick, and Carson Wentz, who was an MVP candidate in the Eagles’ 2017 Super Bowl season, only to be supplanted by Hurts.
Zierlein made an excellent point in drafting Simpson and letting him sit behind a Super Bowl-winning quarterback for the next couple of years, and if the Eagles feel that they have reached their ceiling with Hurts, they could move on to Simpson.
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Looking at the draft logistics, Philadelphia has the 23rd pick in round one, the 54th selection in round two, and two third-round and two fourth-round picks. Therefore, it is not inconceivable that the Eagles could trade up in the draft if they choose to do so.
A move like that would be telling about how general manager Howie Roseman really feels about Hurts, and as one of the more forward-thinking executives in football, that could be in play.
