Philadelphia opened this NFL season as a Super Bowl favourite. Three weeks before the trade deadline, the Eagles are 2-4, their quarterback is on blood thinners for the next three months, and the sportsbook has effectively written them off.

The Eagles’ Super Bowl price has slid from +4000 before Jalen Hurts’ injury to +15000 since the diagnosis, according to Sports Illustrated’s betting coverage. The NFC playoff number now sits at +460, with the NFC East at +550.

The medical statement from the club and Hurts’ agent, Nicole Lynn, released on Monday, confirmed that follow-up testing found a deep vein thrombosis and bilateral pulmonary emboli, meaning multiple clots on both lungs. The clots developed after Hurts took a cleat to the calf against the Los Angeles Rams on 4 October.

“Jalen’s prognosis is very good, and we expect a full recovery,” the statement read.

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Treatment runs roughly three months. Contact football is off the table until he is clear of the anticoagulants.

Tanner McKee’s one audition

The backup quarterback made his first start of the season in Week 6, a 25-14 loss to the Carolina Panthers. McKee finished 26 of 45 for 215 yards and one touchdown, with a 77.5 passer rating and three sacks taken. Philadelphia managed 222 net yards of offence.

It is their first four-game losing streak under head coach Nick Sirianni and the franchise’s first since 2020.

“I have the utmost confidence in Tanner, but I miss him,” Sirianni said of Hurts.

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Cousins, Fields and Richardson in the frame

The 2026 trade deadline falls after Week 9, on 10 November. Philadelphia will not land a franchise quarterback in that window, but it can land a veteran arm. Reporters have raised several candidates:

• Kirk Cousins (Las Vegas Raiders): A four-time Pro Bowler on a one-year deal, described as leading the league in passing touchdowns, per Sportsnaut’s trade-target list.
• Justin Fields (Kansas City Chiefs): Under contract only through 2026, with Kansas City carrying a $3m cap charge; the appeal is designed quarterback runs that would echo Hurts’ usage, according to a Yahoo Sports breakdown.
• Anthony Richardson (Indianapolis Colts): The Colts are expected to deal after parting with general manager Chris Ballard, and Richardson is seen as a low-cost flyer with a mobile, strong-armed profile.
• Jacoby Brissett (Arizona Cardinals): A high-volume backup available for a late-round Day 3 pick, Sportsnaut writes.
• Shedeur Sanders (Cleveland Browns): The son of Deion Sanders, floated as a buzzier swing after Philadelphia passed on him in the 2025 draft.

Sirianni backs the staff and the quarterback

“The health of our players is always at the forefront of our mind,” Sirianni said.

On whether the club should have moved sooner on Hurts, he added: “I’m not a medical expert. I lean on our guys in all those situations. I have full trust and full faith in them.”

McKee is a 2023 sixth-round pick making his first non-Week 18 start in four seasons as an Eagle. One game against Carolina is thin evidence either way.

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Philadelphia play the Dallas Cowboys in Week 7. The trade deadline is 10 November.

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