January 11 – Jalen Hurts practiced with a glove on his injured right hand but the Philadelphia Eagles’ quarterback wasn’t hiding the intolerable pain he experienced in his finger this week. Hurts threw on Thursday for the first time since he was injured Sunday and confessed he made a poor decision returning to the loss to the New York Giants after being hurt.
“Leaving that game and attempting to go back into the game probably wasn’t the best idea,” Hurts said after the Eagles went through a full padded practice, part of a schedule adjustment that had called for a light walkthrough. “Not having control over the things I wanted to do. But time will tell… I can assure you everything’s progressing in the right way.”
The Eagles (11-6) travel for the first game in their NFC title defense on Monday at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-8). Hurts plans to play, even if he’s ailing. He injured the middle finger on his right (throwing) hand when his fingers hit the hand of Giants linebacker Bobby Okereke while throwing a pass in the first half last week. Hurts had the finger taped and re-entered the game despite trailing 24-0.
Less certain for Philadelphia is the status of wide receiver A.J. Brown. Brown caught 106 passes for 1,456 yards and seven touchdowns this season but left the Week 18 loss to the Giants with a right knee injury. Brown caught a pass near the right hashmarks and was tackled by Giants linebacker Micah McFadden. Brown fumbled the ball and grabbed the back of his knee and calf before rolling to his back with both hands gripping his facemask.
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