Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni confirmed Jalen Hurts sprained his right shoulder in Sunday’s win over the Chicago Bears, but wouldn’t rule out the league MVP contender for this week’s game against the Dallas Cowboys. Hurts had shoulder X-rays on Monday, and based on the results, Sirianni says the team doesn’t consider the injury “long-term.”
“He’s attacking his rehab,” Sirianni said on SportsRadio 94WIP on Tuesday. “We’ll see what happens this week.”
The Eagles would go with Gardner Minshew if Hurts couldn’t play the Cowboys, needing just one win in the last three games to clinch NFC East and home-field advantage in the NFC playoffs . Minshew started a game in place of Hurts last season, completing 20 of 25 passes for 242 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions at 133.7. He also started the Eagles’ Week 18 Finals against the Cowboys, but Philadelphia had a playoff berth clinched and rested their starters.
” This guy [Minshew] is a great backup quarterback who could start on teams in this league, and we know that,” Sirianni said. “He doesn’t need a lot of reps. He is ready to go thanks to his football IQ, his intelligence.
“If he has to leave, we will have 100 per cent confidence in him because he can play the ball. He proved that last year. I think he proved that throughout his career. C “He’s a winner. He’s a winner. That’s all he knows how to do.”
Hurts has completed 67.3% of his passes for 3,472 yards with 22 touchdowns for just five interceptions this season (104.6 rating), while rushing for 747 yards and 13 touchdowns. Hurts’ 35 combined touchdowns during the season tied Randall Cunningham’s franchise record (1990), and he was on course to become the first quarterback to throw for 4,000 yards and rush for 800 yards the season before the injury.