The Philadelphia Eagles might still look like one of the best teams in the NFC for 2026 on paper, but all the vibes are off. A messy offseason that has been dominated with swirling A.J. Brown trade rumors, losing priority pass rusher Jaelan Phillips in free agency, and trying to make deals under a difficult salary cap has now morphed into criticism of quarterback Jalen Hurts.

“Poor body language, not always bought in, not the most coachable and the players notice,” a team source said.

Much of the ESPN report centers on one key moment in the 2025 season, in which there was finger-pointing on the Eagles sideline with nobody accepting responsibility for the unsuccessful Four Verts play on fourth down against the 49ers in the playoffs, which ended Philadelphia’s season. Some say Hurts came up with the idea for the play, while others say it was failed offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo, but with Hurts noticeably resisting any wrinkles being added to the play.

“I was like, ‘Oh my God, this is not happening,’” the team source said. “We can’t run four verts.”

Hurts has every tool needed to be an elite NFL quarterback, but two consistent themes continue to emerge when criticism of the quarterback take place: A hesitance to let the ball rip and show off his arm talent, as well as an overarching resistance to change. It makes Hurts the ultimate quarterback when things are going well, but here’s been a tendency to struggle on the rare occasions where he’s needed to fight to get the Eagles back into close games. Hurts has just 10 fourth-quarter comebacks and 13 game-winning drives over the course of his six-year career, lagging behind his peer group. This is in part due to Philadelphia’s dominance, but that doesn’t completely erase the fact that there have been struggles when the offense needs to make in-game adjustments.

There has also been some criticism that Hurts causes a degree of chaos at the line of scrimmage, routinely changing plays at a whim and seemingly not executing on the coaching staff’s vision.

Eagles offensive players know Hurts isn’t afraid to change plays he doesn’t like and must adjust accordingly, a team source said. Added a separate team source, “You never know what play is coming out of the huddle” when Hurts is leading it, and in the past he has been known to signal a route that hadn’t been installed by coaches.

This creates a fascinating dichotomy: Is Hurts simply a die-hard competitor doing what it takes to win? Or does this too often cross into hubris, where Hurts takes too much of the playcalling duties on himself when he should be taking guidance? Is there a possibility that as much success as the Eagles have had, could they be even better if Hurts took himself out of the playcalling equation more?

We might get the answers to some of these questions in 2026. The Eagles will have a fully rebuilt offense with new coordinator Sean Mannion, moving away from the boring principles of Patullo. If the NFL season begins and we see a new-look offense from Philly, then it could be a sign that this team has moved past its issues, but if the plays look almost the same as 2025 then it’s fair to question if this is due to Hurts’ resistance to change. If that’s the case, then who knows what happens next.