Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts suffered a sprained right shoulder injury and his status for Philadelphia’s game at Dallas is uncertain.
Jalen hurts : Shoulder injury | Injury video | update
The Philadelphia Eagles selected Hurts 53rd overall in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft.
After originally being named as the third string quarterback behind Nate Sudfeld, he gained the backup position at Week 2, mainly so he could be used for quarterback running plays or as a decoy.
On December 6, 2020, Hurts came on in relief of Carson Wentz, who was benched due to ineffective play, against the Green Bay Packers.
In this Week 13 matchup, Hurts threw his career first passing touchdown to Greg Ward and finished the game with 109 passing yards with a touchdown and an interception in the 30–16 loss.
On December 8, 2020, Hurts was named the starter for their Week 14 game against the New Orleans Saints.
In his first NFL start, Hurts completed 17 of 30 passing attempts for 167 passing yards and one touchdown, leading the Eagles to a 24–21 win.
Jalen hurts shoulder injury
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts has suffered a shoulder sprain, CBS Sports Lead NFL Insider Jonathan Jones reported Monday afternoon.
His status for the Eagles’ Christmas Eve game against the Dallas Cowboys is “in doubt,” per Jones, and he could end up missing the next two games, per The Philadelphia Inquirer.
The injury took place during the Eagles’ 25-20 win over the Chicago Bears in Week 15. The 24-year-old got hurt late in the third quarter when Bears defensive end Trevis Gipson tackled Hurts into the ground and put all of his 6-foot-4, 263-pound frame onto his right, throwing shoulder.
Hurts did not miss any time after the hit, and ended up finishing the game 22 of 37 with 315 yards and two interceptions through the air to go along with 17 carries for 61 yards and three rushing touchdowns. He was sacked just once in the win.
Not only was Hurts able to remain in the game after the hit that caused the sprained shoulder, but he was also still able to make incredible passes, like this throw to A.J. Brown for a 68-yard gain.
The Eagles are on the verge of securing the No. 1 seed in the NFC and getting a first-round playoff bye, which would help them if Hurts does need some time to recover.
Injury video
There was no broken collar bone as many wildly speculated. Instead, he has a sprained shoulder and could miss 1-2 weeks.
It’s a shoulder sprain for Eagles QB Jalen Hurts, source says. This does put his status for Saturday’s game in jeopardy.
Some rumors, and the Vegas line for the Eagles game swinging wildly, set Eagles Twitter into panic Monday afternoon. But you can dial back the panic a little bit.
Because the truth is far less dire than many online initially feared. After the Bears game, where Jalen Hurts took some hard hits, he got X-Rays on his shoulder.
Adam Schefter reported that there is a chance Jalen Hurts will not play and that Gardner Minshew will start for the Eagles. A sprained shoulder has a usual recovery time of 1-2 weeks, so it is not a long-term issue. But it seems like he may miss some time.
Thankfully the Eagles do have some room to work with. After their win over the Bears, and the Cowboys’ loss in Jacksonville, the Eagles’ magic number is 1. One win over these final 3 games, or 1 Cowboys loss, will clinch the NFC East for them.
And then they would need just one win or 1 Vikings loss to clinch the top seed in the NFC. The Eagles play the Cowboys in Dallas on Saturday and then come home to face the Saints and Giants in the final two weeks.
Update
Coach Nick Sirianni would not say Tuesday morning whether Hurts would participate in the practice session, but the team’s injury report estimates Hurts as a non-participant.
Sirianni and Hurts aren’t counting out the quarterback for Saturday’s game against the Cowboys.
“I don’t put anything past Jalen Hurts as far as his physical and mental toughness,” Sirianni said during his news conference, via EJ Smith of the Philadelphia Inquirer. “There’s a chance he could play this week.
He is one of the toughest guys I know and he heals fast. He’s a freak. . . . I will not rule him out. I would not put a timetable on him. We’ll see what happens this week.”
It could be gamesmanship on the part of the Eagles, forcing the Cowboys to prepare for Hurts and Minshew. Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy said Monday that’s exactly what his team is doing this week.