The Eagles have yet to respond to a bombshell report from ESPN\u2019s Tim McManus and Jeremy Fowler detailing last season\u2019s dysfunction \u2014 specifically the team\u2019s frustration with quarterback Jalen Hurts \u2014 that dropped early Wednesday as the annual league meetings were breaking up in Phoenix.<\/p>\n
The expos\u00e9 mirrored midseason reports by The Athletic and NFL broadcaster Derrick Gunn questioning Hurts\u2019 coachability and willingness to follow the offense as designed, a pattern that bothered several teammates and was the source of receiver A.J. Brown\u2019s exasperation.<\/p>\n
General manager Howie Roseman, coach Nick Sirianni and owner Jeffrey Lurie had already met with the media in Arizona before ESPN released its article, but Lurie praised Hurts Tuesday night.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no bigger fan of Jalen than me,\u201d Lurie said. \u201cExceptional and so dedicated. I mean, I think you probably know, I spend a lot of time with Jalen, as I do with most quarterbacks. Incredibly dedicated to the game, to winning and being a huge winner. I love everything about him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hurts was the Super Bowl MVP in 2024 and outplayed Kansas City\u2019s Patrick Mahomes two years earlier in a Super Bowl loss. His accomplishments are undeniable. But the team wants to see him evolve as a player. That includes operating from under center, where play action has been more effective, and incorporating more sophisticated concepts such as motion, shifts and pinpoint timing routes that reflect today\u2019s incarnation of the West Coast offense.<\/p>\n
The Eagles ran play-action passes just 15% of the time last year, which ranked 22nd in the league, despite having a threat like Saquon Barkley in the backfield. Hurts also reportedly changed many plays to simpler, predictable concepts \u2014 such as on a failed fourth down late in the wild-card round against San Francisco \u2014 and often held the ball too long and avoided throws over the middle.<\/p>\n
The ESPN report comes to light as the Eagles are weighing a contract extension for the quarterback and whether to trade Brown this offseason.<\/p>\n
Part of the problem is that Hurts has had a different offensive coordinator every year. Even when he does develop rapport with a play-caller, that coach has been gone the following season, making continuity impossible. So Hurts himself has become frustrated and distrustful and resistant to new ideas.<\/p>\n
But the Eagles don\u2019t seem to see the contradiction in having a revolving door of OCs.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs much as you\u2019d like to have continuity and would like to have guys here for a long period of time, we want to win. We have an urgency to win right now. If that comes with the ramifications that we lose good people because they\u2019ve earned head coaching jobs, we\u2019ll live with that,\u201d Roseman said at the end-of-season news conference.<\/p>\n
Sirianni said Monday he has maintained offseason communication with Hurts but emphasized balance.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou want guys to get away from football a little bit,\u201d the coach said. \u201cRecharge.\u201d<\/p>\n
The latest play-caller is Sean Mannion, a former quarterback who was Jordan Love\u2019s QB coach in Green Bay. Hurts has reportedly expressed early buy-in behind the scenes.<\/p>\n
Latest on a new stadium<\/p>\n
Lurie confirmed the organization has begun exploring options for the franchise\u2019s next stadium \u2014 a process that could eventually lead to a major overhaul of Lincoln Financial Field or an entirely new structure.<\/p>\n
Nothing is imminent. But the conversation has started.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re in the exploratory stage,\u201d Lurie said. \u201cWe want to be very thoughtful about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lincoln Financial Field opened in 2003 and remains under lease through 2032. Lurie praised the stadium and the South Philadelphia Sports Complex but acknowledged that the team must begin evaluating future options, as many NFL franchises are doing.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a wonderful stadium,\u201d Lurie said. \u201cBut we have to think about the long-term future and what makes the most sense for the fans and for the city.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Eagles have been studying newer venues across the league and abroad, including modern multipurpose stadiums that can host events beyond football.<\/p>\n
A domed facility is among the concepts under discussion. Such a move could help Philadelphia pursue mega-events like the Super Bowl and NCAA Final Four.<\/p>\n
He said he hasn\u2019t ruled out leaving South Philly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re looking at everything,\u201d Lurie said. \u201cWhat\u2019s the best experience for fans? What\u2019s the best long-term home for the Eagles?\u201d<\/p>\n
The team has also surveyed season-ticket holders about stadium preferences as part of its research process.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is something you do carefully,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re at the very beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n
Depth move at linebacker<\/p>\n
The Eagles added another piece to their offseason roster this week by signing linebacker Chandler Martin to a two-year deal.<\/p>\n
Martin, 23, spent last season with the Baltimore Ravens after going undrafted out of Memphis. He appeared in three games, playing 34 special-teams snaps and recording five tackles.<\/p>\n
His rookie season ended early when he tore his ACL in Week 13.<\/p>\n
The Eagles view Martin as a developmental linebacker who could compete for depth and special-teams work once healthy. The two-year structure of the deal suggests the club is willing to give him time to recover and prove himself.<\/p>\n
Philadelphia\u2019s linebacker room is led by Zack Baun and Jihaad Campbell, with young reserves such as Jeremiah Trotter Jr., Smael Mondon and Chance Campbell also competing for roles.<\/p>\n
Notes<\/p>\n
\u2022 Lurie reiterated that he remains deeply involved in the franchise despite giving his son Julian an expanded role in recent years.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe I still have a lot of gray hair,\u201d Lurie said with a smile. \u201cBut I\u2019m probably more involved than ever.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2022 Lurie said the team would be open to appearing in an international game \u2014 but only as the visiting team.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are not going to give up a home game,\u201d he said. \u201cWe just did that in Brazil.\u201d<\/p>\n
Philadelphia opened the 2024 season in S\u00e3o Paulo, sacrificing a home date as part of the NFL\u2019s international expansion.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Sirianni confirmed that the Eagles are planning joint training-camp practices this summer with the New England Patriots. They will take place in Foxborough, Mass. Last year, the Eagles hosted practices with the Browns.<\/p>\n
\u2014<\/p>\n
Follow Christiaan DeFranco on X and Threads at @the_defranc.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Eagles have yet to respond to a bombshell report from ESPN\u2019s Tim McManus and Jeremy Fowler detailing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":848160,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2068],"tags":[25,7,6,242,109,2476,9,5367],"class_list":{"0":"post-848159","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-philadelphia-eagles","8":"tag-eagles","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-nfl","11":"tag-philadelphia","12":"tag-philadelphia-eagles","13":"tag-philadelphiaeagles","14":"tag-sports","15":"tag-top-stories-tmc"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116332057587865027","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/848159","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=848159"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/848159\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/848160"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=848159"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=848159"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=848159"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}