The Philadelphia Eagles will have to wait a little bit longer before quarterback Jalen Hurts is back on the field.
On Friday, head coach Nick Sirianni provided an update on his team’s signal caller, and implied that it was looking like he’d be out for at least another week. The team ultimately made the call that Hurts will be out for Sunday's game against the Dallas Cowboys later in the afternoon.
"[Hurts] is still in the protocol. It's going to be tough for him to make it this week," Sirianni told reporters.
Hurts was removed from last week’s game against the Washington Commanders in the first quarter after his head struck the ground hard following a hit from linebacker Frankie Luvu. He was announced out for the game due to a concussion shortly later.
In Hurts’s place, the Eagles will turn to backup Kenny Pickett, who also took over for Hurts against the Commanders. Pickett is dealing with some injuries of his own after Sunday’s game, and says he will be wearing extra padding to protect his ribs. Tanner McKee, a sixth-round draft pick out of Stanford in 2023, is set to serve as Pickett’s primary backup.
After the Eagles’ loss to the Commanders, their chances of taking the No. 1 seed in the NFC dropped significantly, but Philadelphia still has a bit of work to do to make sure they win their division.
A win over the Cowboys on Sunday would lock up their second division title in the past three years, and would make it so their Week 18 game against the Giants was largely insignificant, potentially giving Hurts, and the rest of the team’s starters, another week of rest before their playoff push.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Eagles’ Nick Sirianni Gives Pessimistic Update on Jalen Hurts’s Game Status.
