Barkley and the Eagles have good reason to avoid distractions as much as possible.
Philly flopped in its Super Bowl defense in the 2025 season, ran into offensive problems for much of the repeat attempt and lost in the Wild Card round. Barkley wasn’t nearly the difference he was on his way to winning Offensive Player of the Year in 2024. After rushing for 2,005 yards and 13 touchdowns on 5.8 yards per carry in his inaugural season with the Eagles, his numbers dropped to 1,140 rushing yards, seven TDs and 4.1 yards per carry last season. His rushing yards per game plummeted, from 125.3 to 71.3.
The pass rush under Jalen Hurts was also out of bounds, ranking 23rd in the league. Brown still had a team-leading 78 receptions for his fourth 1,000-yard receiving season in four tries with the Eagles, but he consistently made headlines for being unhappy with either his role in the drive or Philadelphia’s overall effectiveness.
His chemistry, or lack thereof, with Hurts has been a common topic of conversation for a few years now, but missing out on a championship instead of winning it all obviously turns up the volume.
As often before, Hurts was asked Wednesday about his opinion on Brown’s situation.
“I think for us we’re focused on learning the offense,” Hurts said. “It doesn’t really change in terms of our approach to improving. It’s an ‘if’, obviously an ongoing thing, but nothing can replace all the greatness we achieved together.”
The QB also clarified that he and Brown are still on good terms: “Nothing has changed since we last talked at the end of the season. We’re very good. I saw how beautiful the pictures came out at his wedding. I’m very happy for him and his wife and his family.”
Regardless of the bonds that are in place and the success that has come together, none of that matters on May 27, as a potential trade still looms and the Eagles begin gearing up for OTAs.
Philadelphia is looking to get back on track, which right now includes mastering the setup of offensive coordinator Sean Mannion’s new system and getting young players like first-round wide receiver Makai Lemon going — don’t get caught up in guesswork.
Hurts and Barkley set the tone for controlling the controllable and hopefully that will eventually lead to controlling the rest of the league this coming season.