On the surface, there should be nothing to worry about when it was revealed that quarterback Jalen Hurts was limited in practice Wednesday for the second time in two weeks because of an ankle injury. It probably would’ve happened last week, too, had the Eagles not had a Thursday night game against the Washington Commanders. Instead, the Eagles held walkthrough practices leading up to the game. Thus Hurts was not on the injury report.
But there was Hurts back on the injury report Wednesday even though the Eagles were holding their first on-field activities in six days. An NFL source said Hurts was limited because it was the final day of a strengthening program for his lower body coming off the Eagles’ 26-18 win over the Commanders last Thursday. The source said Hurts is expected to be a full participant in practice Thursday and Friday, and play Sunday night when the Eagles face the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium.
The team listed Hurts with an ankle injury on its report. It should be noted that Hurts was evaluated for a concussion after the Eagles got a field goal with 19 seconds left in the first half against the Commanders. He was cleared to play to start the second half. “Just a little program we have for the mini-bye. I’m fine,” Hurts said.
“Fine,” of course, is relative in the NFL. And Hurts certainly knows about that. Over the last three seasons Hurts has dealt with some sort of injury late in the season and into the playoffs. In 2021, it was a sprained ankle that kept Hurts out for one December game, but bothered him into the playoffs. He was in a walking boot following the Eagles’ first-round loss.
In 2022, it was a jammed shoulder that kept Hurts out of the final two regular-season games. Hurts returned for the playoffs, but admitted it took until the Super Bowl before he felt better. Then last season, Hurts dealt with a knee injury that might have curtailed his running, even though he played in every game and took part in every practice.
Hurts also suffered a finger injury in the 2023 regular-season finale. “It’s not necessarily about all health,” Hurts said. “I think it’s a mentality where we are. We’re in a phase of the year where things could have very easily … well, they didn’t end the way we wanted to. So that’s in the back of my mind as we enter this phase, and putting an emphasis on finishing strong, putting ourselves in a good place.”
Then Hurts revealed something else. “Really, throughout the course of the year, just really making sure you’re doing the things you need to do to stay on top of stuff,” Hurts said. “That’s kind of what we’re doing. A lot of other players are doing it as well.” Sure enough, wide receiver DeVonta Smith sat out practice Wednesday with a hamstring injury, which has bothered him for the last three games even though he hasn’t missed any games. It was the same thing with linebacker Nakobe Dean, who was limited with a groin injury that has bothered him for the past few games.
Yet the biggest change has come with Hurts, who refused to miss a practice unless he was physically incapable, like in 2022 with the shoulder and 2021 with the ankle. He certainly never was limited for a Joel Embiid load-management type of reason until Wednesday, Nov. 6, when Hurts was listed as resting. Hurts clearly wasn’t happy about it, saying then: “I just do what I’m told.”
Two days later, Eagles coach Nick Sirianni let it slip that Hurts was dealing with an ankle injury. Hurts is apparently still dealing with it. Sirianni also made it seem like he’s not giving his players a choice as to their practice availability. Sirianni was speaking in general Wednesday about managing players’ health. He was not asked about Hurts because it wasn’t known to the media at the time that Hurts would be limited.
“I know that’s always a popular question, do you have to manage this and manage that?” Sirianni said. “Yeah, we do, but we’re also thinking (about) what we need to do in that time frame to win the football game. “Again, we can take care of their bodies on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday as much as we possibly can. Now, don’t think it’s not on our mind on Sunday − it is. We’ll do it as much as we possibly can on Sunday.”
