It’s happened here before. On July 9, 1968, the Philadelphia 76ers traded the iconic and perceived to be “polarizing” all-time great Wilt Chamberlain to the Los Angeles Lakers for Jerry Chambers, Archie Clark and Darrall Imhoff. This came after the Sixers finished 62-20, with Chamberlain leading the way, averaging 24.3 points, 23.8 rebounds, and 8.6 assists a game, becoming the first—and only center—to lead the NBA in assists in a season. That spring, the Sixers lost in the Eastern Division Finals
in seven games to another icon, Bill Russell, and the Boston Celtics. The trade happened a year after Chamberlain led the 76ers to their first NBA championship in 1967.
Jalen Hurts is not exactly Chamberlain, but he has accomplished some history here, becoming the first Eagles’ starting quarterback to lead the franchise to win a Super Bowl and the first Eagles’ quarterback in franchise history to lead the team to two Super Bowls. As a starter, he has a 57-25 record, and in his five years as a fulltime starter, he’s the Eagles to five-straight playoff berth, three NFC East titles, two Super Bowls, one Super Bowl championship and has a 10-7 record in the postseason.
Somehow, all of that seems glossed over under a deluge of doubt entering this season. Words like “polarizing” have been used to describe him. This coming season, in some media circles, is being labeled a “prove it” year for Hurts. He has his limitations; there are no doubts about that.
But what stands above everything is that he wins.
The fear here is that Philadelphia may be pushing another superstar out of the door.
There is no question there was friction between Hurts and departed No. 1 receiver A.J. Brown. Although Brown’s angst was aimed partly at Hurts, he should have taken a good inventory of himself. Brown had a 2025 season in which he gave up on routes, gave up on tracking passes, gave up on his teammates and had career-lows with 63 passes for 869 yards and five touchdowns. This season, he caught 78 passes for 1,003 yards. Last year was Brown’s worst as a pro since 2021—ironically his last in Tennessee.
Brown then had the audacity to blame everyone around him but himself.
For some reason, it seems like Hurts is nowhere near as appreciated as he should be in Philadelphia. Anywhere else, considering his achievements, Super Bowl MVP, his winning resume, and the simple fact that he just wins, would be celebrated in almost every other NFL city.
Not here.
Hurts will soon be up for another contract extension. The Eagles have not budged yet on that. They better watch out. There are some around Hurts who feel he may have been traded after last season, and some around him, and in some NFL circles, that he may be gone after this coming season, if he does not perform.
The Eagles have bigger problems than Hurts or the Brown saga.
Some close to Hurts feel that the Eagles did not support him enough when some constructively insightful stories came out this postseason about some of his deficiencies on the field, like Eagles teammates did, at the urging of the Eagles, over the constructive criticism Carson Wentz received in January 2019. No one spoke up publicly on Hurts’ behalf as they did Wentz.
What some close to Hurts bristled over most was the conjecture over Hurts’ inability to be coached.
Hurts has always asked why and how plays develop since he first touched a football. He has always been inquisitive, according to those who coached him at Alabama and Oklahoma. He constantly asks “Why?” Apparently, his “whys” were not answered enough by Brian Johnson and Kevin Patullo, who it seems Hurts may have checked out on last season by changing plays, because he may not have believed in Patullo’s calls in certain situations.
Let’s see what Sean Mannion brings. Let’s see where Hurts goes after next season, and even if he has a great year, will he even want to come back to Philadelphia in 2027? Ultimatums seem like they are pushing him out the door right now.
This city, its fanbase and team managements have a history of pushing superstars out like Wilt Chamberlain and Charles Barkley.
Hopefully, Hurts is not next.
