Over the last 3 weeks of the regular season, the Philadelphia Eagles have been forced to make due without NFL All-Pro quarterback Jalen Hurts, who has been in concussion protocol since the first quarter of a loss to the Washington Commanders in Week 16.
While life without Hurts hasn’t been terrible and backup quarterbacks Kenny Pickett and Tanner McKee have both filled in admirably as Hurts sat out the last 2 games of the regular season, it’s hard to see the Eagles making it to the Super Bowl without Hurts.
As the No. 2 seed Eagles inch closer to Sunday’s NFC Wild Card Game against the No. 7 seed Green Bay Packers in Philadelphia, Hurts’ availability still remains in doubt following the disclosure that he remains in concussion protocol for the third consecutive week.
Philadelphia head coach Nick Sirianni addressed the issue with Hurts the same way he has since the day of the injury — meaning that its out of his hands.
“Nick Sirianni says he has no new information on Jalen Hurts today,” NBC Sports Philly’s John Clark wrote on his official X account on January 7. “It looks like we won’t know if Jalen will practice on Wednesday until … Wednesday.”
The Eagles went 2-1 without Hurts, with Pickett starting in a Week 17 win over the Dallas Cowboys before exiting with a rib injury and giving way to McKee. In a Week 18 win over the New York Giants, McKee made his first career start and led the Eagles to a 20-13 win with most of the Eagles’ best players sidelined because the game had no impact on playoff seeding.
Hurts has been battling injuries and outside noise through the second half of the season — and somehow led the Eagles to 10 consecutive wins through the middle of it all.
In Week 11 against the Commanders, Hurts had to meet with an independent neurotrauma special in the first half but returned to lead the Eagles to a 26-18 win.
Following a 27-13 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 15 — the Eagles’ 10th consecutive win — Hurts told The Associated Press he’d been playing with a broken finger on his left, non-throwing hand.
From the AP: “It’s broken, and it did impact my play,” Hurts said. ““I’ve known it’s been at the state it’s at all week, and I don’t really want to put too much more into it. I can say I don’t think it got any worse today. If it’s shattered, it’s shattered. It is what it is.”
Hurts signed a 5-year $255 million contract extension before the 2023 season.McKee Might Be Better Option Than Pickett
McKee, 6-foot-6 and 231 pounds, was selected by the Eagles in the sixth round (No. 188 overall) out of Stanford in the 2023 NFL draft — he’s also more of a pocket passer than Pickett, which might lend itself to being a better option for the Eagles with elite downfield receiving threats in A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith and the return of tight end Dallas Goedert. He also impacts little of what the Eagles would do in the run game with 2,000-yard rusher Saquon Barkley.
Coming on in relief of Pickett against the Cowboys, McKee went 3-of-4 passing for 54 yards, 2 touchdowns and no interceptions in the 41-7 win over the Cowboys. Against the Giants, McKee was 27-of-41 passing for 269 yards, 2 touchdowns and no interceptions.
