Will the Eagles be affected by the Russell Wilson extension?

The Eagles are in a prime position to strike while Jalen Hurts is under his rookie deal. Quarterbacks are getting paid handsomely in the NFL.

After Kyler Murray, Aaron Rodgers, and others received lucrative contract extensions in the off-season, Russell Wilson has added to the ever-growing pool.

Having a quarterback on a rookie deal has become more and more of a hot commodity across the league. For the Eagles and Jalen Hurts, it has allowed the team to build around their third-year quarterback and improve the overall outlook of the franchise, but Hurts’ contract is over after the end of the 2023-24 season.

After this year, Hurts will be in line for a contract extension and putting him among the highest-paid players in football. Wilson’s contract extension impacts Hurts in a number of key ways.

Lack of Credentials is no longer a concern

The Eagles are using the 2022-23 season to see what they have in their current starting quarterback and a stacked cast around him.

While Hurts’ will need to prove himself this upcoming season, the importance of having numbers and wins for a quarterback has continued to decrease.

Russell Wilson is one of the winningest regular-season quarterbacks throughout his career. However, since the Legion of Boom dispanded in 2016, the Seahawks have won just one playoff game.

Six years: one playoff win. Simply put, that’s not enough to warrant lucrative contract extensions no matter who is the quarterback.

While Eagle fans can question the legitimacy of Hurts’ long-term availability, the fact that players like Kyler Murry and Russell Wilson are getting major extensions done without playoff experience means that the credentials needed for quarterback extensions are not as important as they once were.

The NFC is Wide Open

This was true the minute Wilson touched down in Denver.

It’s even more so now. With Wilson locked into Denver for the foreseeable future, the likelihood of Denver cutting ties with a player due to poor play is next to none.

That means the NFC will be wide open for a considerable time, and the NFC East could very well send multiple teams to the playoffs.

It’s small and simple, but not having to worry about an additional team in the NFC will only help the Eagles’ chances of getting back to the playoffs.

Eagles have cap flexibility

The Eagles don’t have to trade away top players like in the past to make room. With the trade for AJ Brown, the Eagles locked up a key piece to their offense already before Hurts’ extension came into talks.

With players like AJ Brown, Jordan Mailata, and Josh Sweat all on team-friendly deals, the Eagles have the flexibility to potentially give Hurts the money he wants, while also fielding a competitive team.

The Eagles don’t have to give Hurts’ a contract extension just because of Russell Wilson. If the starting signal-caller does not perform like a top quarterback, the Eagles can trade Hurts or let him walk in free agency.

That being said, the flexibility the Eagles have with their roster, and draft capital allow the team to not put all their shoes in one basket.

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