Jalen Hurts suffered a concussion final week, and it doesn’t appear to be he will likely be able to return on Sunday. Nick Sirianni stated Friday by way of the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane that Hurts appears unlikely to play in Week 17.
This may result in Kenny Pickett’s first begin since halfway by means of final season. Benched after which traded by the Steelers, Pickett changed Hurts in Week 16 — a shootout loss that ended the Eagles’ prolonged win streak — and picked up a rib harm within the course of. This led to the Eagles including a reinforcement (Ian E-book) at QB, however Pickett logged a full observe Thursday and can be good to switch Hurts if/when that point comes this week.
As Hurts didn’t observe Wednesday or Thursday, Pickett moved from restricted to full participation over the previous two days. The Eagles seem set to keep away from a state of affairs through which they would wish to go to third-stringer Tanner McKee, however the Hurts-to-Pickett drop-off keyed the workforce’s loss to the Commanders. That defeat dropped the Eagles to 12-3, in a yr through which three defeats won’t be adequate to land the NFC’s No. 1 seed. The winner of Week 18’s Vikings-Lions rematch could properly receive that coveted perch, however the Eagles have an even bigger concern within the brief time period.
As Hurts closes out his fourth season as Philly’s starter, he has completed properly to rebound from an inconsistent 2023 marketing campaign — one marred by a leg harm that the QB performed by means of. Hurts has been accessible all through this season, accounting for 29 touchdowns (11 speeding) and simply 5 interceptions. This got here after the one-time 2022 MVP frontrunner — earlier than a late-season shoulder harm — threw 15 INTs final season. Hurts left Sunday’s recreation within the first half, and the Eagles blew a 14-point lead.
Philly and Pittsburgh agreed to the Pickett commerce not lengthy after the Steelers signed Russell Wilson. Disenchanted by each the way in which his 2023 season ended and the Steelers changing him with Wilson, Pickett was longing for a contemporary begin. He couldn’t reside as much as his No. 20 total draft slot in Pittsburgh and completed his second season on the bench behind Mason Rudolph. A sprained ankle initially sidelined Pickett in Week 12 of final season; he didn’t play once more for the Steelers.
Pickett went 14 of 24 for 143 yards final week, throwing a landing go and an interception in Washington. A DeVonta Smith drop value the Eagles dearly, previous the Commanders’ game-winning drive. That sequence, in what has been a top-heavy NFL yr, could plant the Eagles because the NFC’s No. 2 seed. With the present format now not giving second-seeded squads a bye, Hurts has two weeks to be prepared for a wild-card recreation.
Recoveries from concussions clearly differ, however the timetable would make Hurts a reasonably secure wager of being cleared by then. Sunday’s Cowboys rematch, nonetheless, will give Pickett one other alternative. The Eagles have the 2022 first-rounder signed by means of subsequent season.
