When the Seattle Seahawks traded Russell Wilson after the 2021 season, the issue wasn't that he was a system quarterback who was no longer productive. Wilson's sin was that he went to ownership to try to make organizational changes. That isn't the case with Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles.
What makes the Hurts situation odd is that the quarterback, as well as his team, seems to get a lot of disrespect from the media and NFL fans, even though Philly has achieved recent high-level success. Did they have dips in form after making deep runs in the playoffs the previous year? Sure, but lots of teams do that.
Even while the Eagles weren't as good as the Los Angeles Rams and Seahawks in 2025, it doesn't mean that Philadelphia cannot rebound from last season's relatively poor performance and make a Super Bowl run next season. The roster is still extremely talented. Yet, ESPN appears to think there may be irreparable discord between the team's quarterback situation and future success.
Russell Wilson's Seattle Seahawks problem and Jalen Hurt's Eagles dilemma seem completely different
Even further, in reaction to a tweet from ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, The Athletic's (subscription required) Ted Nguyen tweeted, "Said it during the season, but the path that Hurts is going down is extremely similar to Russell Wilson’s."
It doesn't, though. Not directly.
What Fowler wrote, both in the tweet and, in essence, his article on the four-letter website, was "Jalen Hurts stands at a crossroads. Despite his immense success, sources say he has a hand in the Eagles offense becoming calcified, and frustrations have grown."
In other words, Hurts is such a specific skillset that Philly has to run a somewhat limited offense to fit what Hurts can do. The rub is that most teams have to do some form of that with their quarterbacks. The Eagles may have to do that a bit more with Hurts, but it has also worked well enough for Philadelphia to win a Super Bowl for the 2024 season.
The Seahawks didn't have to strain as much with Russell Wilson. He was shorter than most quarterbacks, sure, but he had an elite ability to throw deep while also completing a high percentage of his passes. Seattle didn't have to create an offensive scheme that wouldn't have also fit the skillsets of most other players at the position. Wilson just nearly perfected it at times.
What should also be clear is that while neither Jalen Hurts nor Russell Wilson appears to be a bad person, Hurts doesn't seem likely to cause an internal issue for the Eagles the way Wilson did with Seattle. Is he a bit inconsistent in his attitude when the team wins and when it loses? Yes, but only because he is upset with losses.
More specifically, Hurts is unlikely to go to Philly ownership and ask general manager Howie Roseman and head coach Nick Sirianni to be fired.
That is what Wilson did with the Seahawks in an attempt to get general manager John Schneider and then-head coach Pete Carroll fired. The result of this was Wilson being traded, not because he had "calcified" the offense.
The comparison of Wilson to Hurts has little merit in terms of the problems each team has had. Plus, discounting the Philadelphia Eagles as a title contender in 2026 is foolish. Russell Wilson, meanwhile, is looking for a new team.