Jalen Hurts can be a man of very few words when he’s talking about himself, especially injured body parts. The Philadelphia Eagles starter has been nursing a sore ankle and remains questionable to play against the New York Jets in Week 13.
Head coach Nick Sirianni called Hurts “hopeful” for Sunday’s matchup. Offensive coordinator Shane Steichen echoed that hope while admitting Gardner Minshew was getting uploaded on the gameplan. Hurts chimed in on the subject prior to Wednesday’s walk-through and seemed to erase all doubt. He fully intends to suit up and atone for last week’s stinker.
When asked about his ankle, Hurts replied: “It’s fine.”
Great. Jalen, will the injury affect your mobility? “It won’t.”
One more question, are you definitely playing? “I’ll be ready to go.”
So that settles it. See you at MetLife Stadium in The Meadowlands.
Hurts seemed anxious to get back out there after putting on the worst performance of his NFL career in Week 12. He went 14-of-31 with 129 passing yards and 77 rushing yards. More alarming were the turnovers: three interceptions, all on brutally bad reads.
“An old coach told me, ‘You never go broke taking a profit’ and I know there were a lot of opportunities in last week’s game and even in some games before where you just take what they give you,” Hurts told reporters. “So that’s something that I’ve kind of jotted down. I’ve taken the great coaching that the coaches are giving me and I’m excited for this week.”
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Hurts Hints at Previous Undisclosed Injuries
Players have to reveal major injuries as a way to protect themselves in case an untreated ailment shuts them down later. It also benefits the team by protecting their long-term investment in the player. But more minor injuries sometimes get swept under the rug and Hurts alluded to that being the case during his time in Philadelphia.
“You guys know I’m dealing with something,” Hurts said. “It’s the first one that you guys have known [about], so continue to deal with it and move forward and get ready for this week’s game.”
Interesting. And Hurts had a funny response when asked if he had ever gone out there and enjoyed a career day while playing with a major injury. The fear being that Hurts’ sore ankle could severely limit his ability to run.
“Just tune in. Tune in,” Hurts said with a smile.
Four Players Listed on ‘Estimated’ Report
The Eagles traded a normal practice for a walk-through on Wednesday. That’s been standard operating procedure for Sirianni during the late-season grind.
The team listed four players out on an “estimated” practice report, including defensive tackle Fletcher Cox (rest/back), running back Jordan Howard (knee), running back Boston Scott (illness), wide receiver DeVonta Smith (illness). Eight other players were deemed limited participants.
The good news was seeing Kelce listed limited rather than out. The All-Pro center admitted he had swelling in his injured knee, but Philly’s adopted tough guy doesn’t anticipate missing any time. Kelce is a warrior in every sense of the word.
“It’s pretty good. I think there’s swelling in there for sure,” Kelce said. “But we’re going to keep trying to get that out but for the most part there’s no major damage there and should be good.”
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