Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni confirmed Jalen Hurts suffered a sprained right shoulder in Sunday’s win over the Chicago Bearsyet wouldn’t rule the league MVP candidate out for this week’s game against the Dallas Cowboys. Hurts had X-rays on the shoulder Monday, and based on results, Sirianni says the team doesn’t view the injury to be “long term.”
“He is attacking his rehab,” Sirianni said on SportsRadio 94WIP Tuesday. “We’ll see what happens this week.”
The Eagles would go with Gardner Minshew if Hurts can’t play against the Cowboys, needing just one win in the final three games to clinch the NFC East and home-field advantage in the NFC playoffs. Minshew started one game in place of Hurts last season, completing 20-of-25 passes for 242 yards with two touchdowns and zero interceptions with a 133.7 rating. He also started the Eagles’ Week 18 finale against the Cowboys, but Philadelphia had a playoff spot clinched and rested its starters.
“This guy [Minshew] is a great backup quarterback that could be starting on teams in this league, and we know that,” Sirianni said. “He doesn’t need a lot of reps. He’s ready to go because of the football IQ he has, the intelligence he has.
“If he has to go, we’ll have 100 percent confidence in him because he can ball. He proved that last year. I think he’s proven that throughout his career. He’s a winner. He’s a winner. That’s all he knows how to do.”
As for Hurts himself, he told reporters there’s “definitely a chance” that he will play Saturday.
“I’m taking it day by day,” Hurts said. “Everybody knows that I’m dealing with something. I think it’s pretty public. It’s out there. I’m not really one to talk about myself Obviously, being the quarterback of the Philadelphia Eagles you can’t run from that. But I’m taking everything one day a time with it, and preparing for a really good defense.”
Hurts has completed 67.3% of his passes for 3,472 yards with 22 touchdowns to just five interceptions on the season (104.6 rating), while rushing for 747 yards and 13 touchdowns. Hurts’ 35 combined touchdowns on the season tied Randall Cunningham’s franchise record (1990), and he was on pace to become the first quarterback to throw for 4,000 yards and rush for 800 yards on the season prior to the injury.