Jalen Hurts is out for the season due to blood clots. It's a really tough situation for Hurts, and it also puts the Philadelphia Eagles in a weird spot. The NFC East is having a down year, with the 3-2-1 New York Giants (who might be starting J.J. McCarthy going forward) in first place. The Eagles have the most talented team on paper, but with Hurts out, they have a major question mark at the most important position: quarterback.
With Hurts out, Philly is set to start Tanner McKee at quarterback. It would probably be good if the Eagles don't start Tanner McKee at quarterback.
Proposed Eagles-49ers trade for Mac Jones
I want to pause for a moment and say this: I don't think trading for Mac Jones is in the best long-term interest of the Philadelphia Eagles. It gets them closer to contending for the NFC East this season, and because this team does not seem to believe in rebuilding, it's a move Philly would definitely make, but it also reeks a bit too much of desperation. It's an example of sacrificing the future for the present, but the present probably isn't bright enough that you should give up a second-round pick for Jones.
But you will, if you're Philly. The Eagles seem to really like McKee as a backup quarterback, but he completed under 60 percent of his passes in Sunday's 25-14 loss to the Carolina Panthers. He has limited NFL experience and while he looked really good in 2024, his 2025 and 2026 starts have paled in comparison. It's hard to trust him as the starter if your goal is still to contend for a division title, and we kind of have to assume that's Philadelphia's goal until we learn it isn't.
Is Jones some kind of star player who can single-handedly change the course of a franchise? Nah, he's just a guy, a really solid guy, and Philly could easily think that's what they need. Jones can't put a team on his back, but he can win in the right situation. He had a pretty good team around him as a rookie in 2021 and he went 10-7 as the Patriots' starter. He had a good team around him in San Fran last season when he filled in for Brock Purdy and went 5-3 as a starter. (Though Purdy is 13-2 as a starter over the last two seasons, so Jones didn't necessarily elevate the team at all.)
As for why the 49ers do this, it's obvious: Jones is a free agent this offseason and his play last season was good enough for him to at least seek out a team where he has a chance to compete for a starting job. That's not San Francisco. Sure, if Purdy goes down, the team would have to turn to Kurtis Rourke, but I'm a firm believer that as long as a Purdy injury isn't season-ending, Kyle Shanahan can survive with Rourke in the short term.
The advantage of a trade is that the 49ers get a second-round pick next year, which could help them add a wide receiver, considering they basically just have a bunch of older dudes at that spot. It's a risk-vs-reward thing, and the risk seems worth it for San Francisco, unless the team is at least 75 percent convinced that Jones could lead them to a Super Bowl title if Purdy went down.
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