The Philadelphia Eagles are going to have to make some tough decisions this offseason, but no decision will be more discussed than the one the Eagles are faced with at quarterback.
After 7 weeks in this young NFL season, we’ve seen what a second-year, second-round 23 year old quarterback will probably look like in a brand new offense; not good. Sure there are of course the highs of the dominant week 1 performance in Atlanta, but besides that what has Hurts done to leave the fanbase intrigued like so many people are in any of the 6 other games? On paper, Hurts doesn’t look bad. This season Hurts has 15 total touchdowns, along with 2,077 total yards and 4 interceptions on the year. However, a lot of those stats have come during times where the game was out of control, thus creating softer and easier coverages for the Eagles offense to exploit.
Regardless of your opinion on Hurts, one thing is clear, the Eagles are clearly not bought in on him. In fact, it’s fair to say they haven’t been bought in on him being a franchise quarterback since the day he was drafted. Howie Roseman has been quoted saying that the Jalen Hurts pick was directly a result of Carson Wentz’s inability to remain on the field. “We loved Carson,'' said Roseman, “but we played in four playoff games (six actually, Howie!) and we needed our backup in every one.” Not only that, but the immense amount of rumors that circled Deshaun Watson, Russell Wilson, and Zach Wilson to Philadelphia last offseason shows the lack of faith the front office has had in Hurts.
We’re not even into mid season and yet league sources have told both national and local reporters that the Eagles are likely to draft a quarterback with one of their first round picks in 2022. The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane had this to say on the future of the Eagles quarterback situation: “Lurie will entrust his aide with next year’s historically important draft, barring something unforeseen. Those picks will either be used to draft a quarterback or trade for one, which will likely offer additional security for Roseman.” NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo also had some brief words in a reply to a tweet asking if there was any good news for Eagles fans: “Well, that’s it right there. (alluding to the Eagles draft picks in 2022) The silver lining. Obviously not great news for Hurts because we know what those three picks will be used for.”
If the Eagles do want to acquire a new signal caller in 2022, whether through the draft or free agency, their options aren’t limited. There’s obviously the route of trading for the tumultuous Deshaun Watson, however it is unclear if Watson would be willing to waive his no trade clause to come to Philadelphia. There’s also Aaron Rodgers, whose contract allows him to force his way out of Green Bay if he so chooses. Then there’s Russell Wilson, who was close to requesting a trade out of Seattle last offseason before their issues were seemingly cleaned up. However, it’s unclear whether or not those issues were solved to the point where Wilson wouldn’t explore his options again this offseason.
The Eagles could also draft a quarterback with one of their 3 potential first round picks. Matt Corral is my personal favorite option; a playmaking gunslinger with a lot of similar characteristics to former Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz. There’s also the intriguing Malik Willis, who might be the most electrifying player in all of college football, and in my opinion, has the highest ceiling of any quarterback in this draft class. Nevada’s Carson Strong is another option, a “strong” armed quarterback who can make just about any throw on the field.
To round things up, the Eagles current quarterback situation isn’t great, but they sure do have options going into next year. Things aren’t so sunny in Philadelphia as it stands, but by the time April rolls around the sun might just be blazing.
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