Jalen Hurts won’t be in uniform on Sunday, and it’s possible he won’t get back on the field in 2026. He has a blood clot in his calf.
The Eagles apparently weren’t too concerned about this issue last week. They say it was detected in London, and they (after consulting with the league) decided it was safe for him to play in that game. A “superficial” blood clot, they called it in a statement.
That makes it seem possible, perhaps likely, that Hurts might miss only a few games.
But a follow-up ultrasound on Wednesday night showed the clot had moved, causing the team to shut him down for this week. Blood clots can be dangerous, even fatal, with the potential of them traveling to the lungs, brain or heart. Doctors will want to be confident the issue is fully resolved before putting him back on the field.
New England’s Christian Barmore, recall, was diagnosed with a blood clot issue at training camp two years ago. He didn’t get back on the field until mid-November (and then had a relapse issue after four games, missing the rest of that season).
There are no specifics at this point. The Eagles aren’t sharing much about what they know. But for fantasy purposes, it makes sense to start thinking about what this offense might look like without Hurts.
The passing game (and I say this with a straight face) should be more productive. The new coordinator, Sean Mannion, was hoping to modernize the passing game, but those have fallen flat. Hurts is averaging only 187 passing yards and completing only 58 percent. Tanner McKee, while a lightly-regarded prospect, might fit better with what they’re trying to do.
Granted, it’s a stab in the dark. McKee was a sixth-round pick in 2023 after winning six of 22 starts at Stanford. He’s passed for 510 yards, with 4 TDs and 1 interception, in his two regular-season starts, although both were of the meaningless Week 18 variety.
McKee has gotten plenty of reps in the preseason (for whatever it’s worth nowadays) and held up pretty well. He’s completed 69 percent of his passes in his last six preseason games, with 4 TDs, 2 interceptions and only 7 sacks.
| TANNER McKEE IN THE PRESEASON | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | Cmp | Att | Yds | Cmp% | TD | Int | Sack/Lost |
| 2024 | at Balt. | 6 | 16 | 39 | 37.5 | 0 | 0 | 0/0 |
| 2024 | at N.E. | 15 | 19 | 140 | 78.9 | 0 | 0 | 0/0 |
| 2024 | Minn. | 13 | 21 | 115 | 61.9 | 0 | 1 | 1/5 |
| 2025 | Cin. | 20 | 25 | 252 | 80.0 | 2 | 0 | 2/26 |
| 2026 | at Balt. | 6 | 10 | 35 | 60.0 | 0 | 0 | 1/9 |
| 2026 | at N.E. | 16 | 22 | 173 | 72.7 | 2 | 0 | 1/8 |
| 2026 | Cin. | 12 | 22 | 55 | 54.5 | 0 | 1 | 2/16 |
McKee isn’t mobile, which is a big strike against him in typical fantasy leagues (giving the way rushing stats tend to be graded) but in terms of standing in the pocket and operating as a passer, I think his counting stats – passing yards, passing touchdowns – will be better than Hurts.
For those holding the likes of DeVonta Smith, Dontayvion Wicks and Dallas Goedert, the quarterback switch may prove to be a good thing. I can’t promise that will age well, but that’s my leaning.
Similarly, I think Saquon Barkley will be better with a different quarterback. I think he’ll be getting more touches around the goal line. Since he’s joined the Eagles, he’s actually run for 3 fewer touchdowns than Hurts. With those Tush Push plays dialed way back, I think we’ll see Barkley punching in some 1- and 2-yard touchdowns. (For what it’s worth, McKee scored a 1-yard touchdown against Cincinnati in a preseason game a year ago; he had 0 rushing attempts versus 54 pass attempts in the most recent preseason.)
With McKee at quarterback, I think Barkley will also see an uptick in usage as a pass catcher.
But for this week, I don’t think Barkley will even be playing. The final injury report hasn’t come out yet, but he didn’t practice on Wednesday or Thursday. So I believe it will be Dameon Pierce filling in (with Will Shipley and Tank Bigsby also hurt). And with Carolina being pretty crappy defensively, I would say Pierce grades out as a starting-caliber option for Week 6.
Pierce ran for only 14 yards on 11 carries last week, but he ran for over 130 yards three times when he was with the Texans. In his final preseason game with the Eagles this year, he picked up 44 yards on 4 carries, with a long of 16. (Operating a team with Jahmyr Gibbs and TreVeyon Henderson, I will be starting Pierce in a league this week).
—Ian Allan
