The Eagles are asking Jalen Hurts to step into something he has barely done in his NFL career, and that’s where the pressure starts.
With Sean Mannion now running the offense after another coordinator change in Philadelphia, the scheme is expected to look different from what Hurts has worked with before. One of the biggest shifts is the use of under-center play calls, a wrinkle that will put Hurts in spots he simply hasn’t seen much.
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell pointed out just how unusual this is for the Eagles quarterback, writing that Hurts will be asked to make more throws from under center in each game than he has throughout his entire pro career so far. Barnwell also noted that Hurts has three under-center dropback completions in his entire pro career so far.
That number tells the story. Hurts is heading into his seventh season in the NFL, and this is a major change for a player who has built his game in a very different environment. There’s real room here for some rough patches as he gets adjusted to the new setup.
At the same time, the upside is clear if he can settle in. If Hurts gets comfortable working from under center, the running game should benefit, and the Eagles offense could become far more dangerous.
That’s why this has been one of the offseason’s central questions: how does Hurts look in Mannion’s system? For Eagles fans, the concern is obvious, because three completions from under-center snaps is not much of a sample at all.
Hurts has already earned his place among the best quarterbacks in franchise history, but this is still a meaningful test. If the transition goes poorly, it could lead to a step back on offense in 2026.
He does not need to be perfect in this part of the offense. He just needs to be functional, especially early in the season while he gets used to the new approach.
Mannion’s offense will push Hurts well outside his comfort zone, and how he handles that adjustment may end up shaping how far the Eagles go in 2026.
In Other News...
Eagles Fans Just Got A Nostalgia Trip Theyll Want To Revisit
For Eagles fans, the latest nostalgia play comes from a very different corner of the citys sports memory bank. The documentary No One Died: The Wing Bowl Story is now streaming on Amazon, Apple and YouTube, and it revisits the rise of one of Philadelphias most infamous annual spectacles through archival footage and interviews with the people who helped make it a phenomenon.
The film traces Wing Bowls place in Philadelphia sports and pop culture, pulling in competitors, organizers, broadcasters and former Eagles Jason Kelce and Jon Dorenbos along the way. For anyone who remembers the events outsized presence on the city calendar, it offers a fresh look at why Wing Bowl became more than a sideshow and how it left a lasting imprint on the Philadelphia sports scene. [Read more 🡒]
Eagles Fans Will Notice A Few Surprising Names Missing After Cutdowns
The Eagles move to the 53-man roster came with the usual late-August churn, but this round carried a few particularly notable departures. Philadelphia cut 36 players overall and placed two on injured reserve/designated to return, then watched four players get claimed off waivers, more than any other team in the league. Among the losses were Gushiken and Cameron Latu, with Latu landing with the Patriots.
Even after the cutdown dust settled, the Eagles still had a familiar-looking practice squad to sort through. They kept 13 players on the 17-man unit, including five who were back from last year, while also bringing in a few new faces as some of the camp cuts found practice-squad spots elsewhere. It left the roster picture mostly clear for now, even if a few names fans expected to see around a little longer are already gone. [Read more 🡒]
Eagles Draft Class Is About To Face Its First Real Test
As the Eagles move deeper into the 2025 season, the first-year class is no longer being judged on promise alone. A group that was brought in to add speed, depth and future starters is now bumping up against real NFL expectations, with Jihaad Campbell and Andrew Mukuba among the rookies who are expected to have bigger jobs on defense as the year goes on.
Philadelphia has also spent the summer sorting out which members of the class can help immediately on special teams and which ones are still more developmental pieces. That makes this stretch important for the front office as much as the coaching staff, because the answers on this class could shape not just the current rotation but the way the Eagles build out the roster in the seasons ahead. [Read more 🡒]