Jalen Hurts Is Out for 2026. Should You Hold Him in Dynasty?

Quick answer: Hold him. The 2026 season is gone, but his team and his agent say he should make a full recovery, and the Eagles have paid him like a quarterback they plan to keep. The only thing you lose is this year.

What happened

Jalen Hurts took a cleat to the calf in the Week 4 loss to the Rams. Before the Week 5 game in London, an ultrasound found a superficial clot in the calf. Doctors there cleared him, and he played against Jacksonville.

Over the weekend, new imaging found more. Hurts has deep vein thrombosis in the leg and clots in both lungs, the condition doctors call bilateral pulmonary emboli. ESPN's Adam Schefter broke the news Monday morning, and the Eagles and Hurts' agent, Nicole Lynn, confirmed it in a joint statement.

He is on blood thinners, and he can't play football while he takes them. NFL Network and ESPN both report the treatment will last at least three months. That runs past the end of the regular season.

The statement called his prognosis very good and said they expect a full recovery. We're not doctors, so that's the line we're working from. If it changes, this call changes with it.

Why hold

Three months of treatment takes him to the offseason, not into next season. The injury comes with a timeline and a treatment plan, and nobody has said it limits him once he's healthy.

The contract matters too. The Eagles gave him a five-year, $255 million extension in 2023. Nobody is taking this job from him because he missed a year.

His rushing is the other piece. Starting quarterbacks have run more since 2021 than they did in the five years before, and Hurts has been one of the best at it. That gives him a scoring floor most passers don't have.

What to do with your roster

If Hurts was your QB1 and you're contending:Find a starter now. Don't wait for waivers to clear next week. In Superflex, this is the hardest spot in the league to fill, so start with trades.

If you're rebuilding or already out of it:Do nothing, or buy. A contender who can't use Hurts this year has no reason to keep paying full price for him. Ask for a discount and see who blinks.

Don't drop him. If your league has an IR slot, use it.

What it does to the Eagles

Tanner McKee starts. The fourth-year backup had two career starts before Sunday, both in meaningless Week 18 games. Against Carolina he completed 26 of 45 passes for 215 yards and a touchdown, and the Eagles lost 25-14.

The line around him is thin. Three of the five Week 1 starters up front are out, and right tackle Lane Johnson retired earlier this month. Saquon Barkley and DeVonta Smith are both hurt.

Expect little from this offense until those two return, and not a lot after. McKee is a Superflex stopgap if you have nothing else. He isn't a dynasty hold.

Hurts is 28, and he comes back to the same job.

The Week 6 report, written before this diagnosis, is who was starting while the clot was still called superficial. Run any Hurts offer through the Dynasty Trade Calculator before you answer. NextDyne is currently in early access — join the waitlist and lock in Founding Franchise status at $2.00/player for life.