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Jalen Hurts had a highly successful season with the Philadelphia Eagles last year, but apparently, that almost didn’t happen, because he almost wasn’t their starting quarterback. At one point during the 2022 offseason, the Eagles were actually looking to replace Hurts with Russell Wilson.
There’s been a lot of speculation about whether the Eagles actually tried to make a deal for Wilson last year and it’s looking more and more like they did. Although the trade attempt came more than a year ago, the subject is popping back up now because it was a topic of discussion on the “Brock and Salk Show” in Seattle this week. During an episode of the show, Sports Illustrated’s Greg Bishop mentioned that the Eagles had been very interested in acquiring Wilson.
“The Eagles really wanted him,” Bishop said. “I think they liked his style of play.”
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media actually shared a similar story back in April. During an interview with Joey Mulinaro, Rapoport was asked about the juiciest rumors that he’s heard at the combine over the past few years.
“There were times last year when I was pretty convinced at the combine that either the Eagles or Commanders were going to trade for Russell Wilson,” Rapoport said.
According to the NFL Media insider, both deals fell apart because Wilson wasn’t “into” joining either team. The quarterback had a no-trade clause and was able to nix any deal that involved a team he didn’t want to play for.
“That was one where you kind of stop everything and you’re like, ‘Hang on,'” Rapoport said of the Wilson to Philly rumors. “But it turned out that was not something he was into.”
If you need further proof that the Eagles tried to make a play for Wilson, all you have to do is ask the Wilson’s personal QB coach, Jake Heaps. Wilson and Heaps are so tight that the QB actually asked Heaps to move to Denver after Wilson was traded to the Broncos last year. During an interview in March 2022, not only did Heaps reveal that Wilson shot down the Eagles, but he also gave a timeline for when it happened.
“He turned down the Washington [Commanders] offer and he turned down an offer from Philly during the combine,” Heaps said, via Bleeding Green Nation.
Based on the evidence, it seems pretty clear that the Eagles made a strong push for Wilson at the combine, but after they got shot down, Howie Roseman decided to publicly back Hurts as the starter.
In the end, Wilson may have saved the Eagles from themselves. Instead of being stuck with a QB who struggled in 2022, the Eagles were forced to start Hurts, who led Philly to the Super Bowl during a stellar season where he also finishing as runner-up to Patrick Mahomes for MVP.
The Eagles rewarded Hurts this offseason by giving him a five-year, $255 million extension, which briefly made him the highest-paid player in NFL history. If Hurts was slightly disappointed to find out that the Eagles tried to replace him, he probably doesn’t care anymore now that he got a huge contract while also knowing that he’s secured his spot as the Eagles’ quarterback of the future.