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The Philadelphia Eagles are on a short week with only four days until kickoff in Dallas. They are also dealing with a tricky situation at the quarterback position after two players missed Tuesday’s walk-through. Yes, Jalen Hurts and Gardner Minshew were both missing in action.
Hurts’ absence was expected as he rehabs from an unfortunate right shoulder injury that may sideline him for the rest of the regular season. That is going to be an ongoing storyline between now and whenever the playoffs start. It’s not considered too serious.
Meanwhile, backup quarterback Gardner Minshew II wasn’t in the building to start the week. He was given an excused day off from the Eagles and flew down to Mississippi to attend the memorial service for Mike Leach who died unexpectedly last week. Minshew spoke of Leach’s authenticity, drawing on his experiences from their time together as a quarterback-coach duo at Washington State.
“He didn’t believe in those real overachievers. If you could achieve it, you know, that was your 100 percent. But he had a gift of getting you closer to that 100 percent than you ever thought was possible, and that was a hell of a gift,” Minshew said, via Kayla Anderson. “There was a confidence that just came with being around Coach Leach, you know? He was different. You never really felt like an underdog with him. He had confidence, part confidence, part really just not giving a f*** what people thought, you know? It was one of the two and it was awesome, man, it was contagious.”
K’Von Wallace Shows Up on Injury Report
Safety K’Von Wallace showed up on Tuesday’s injury report – remember, it’s an estimation since the Eagles traded a walk-through for practice — with a new hip injury. Receiver Zach Pascal was also missing in action due to a concussion.
It’s too early in the week to start panicking, but definitely, something to monitor since the team is already down starter C.J. Gardner-Johnson. Backup Reed Blankenship (knee) was listed as a full participant after he missed last week’s game against Chicago.
Philadelphia also has veteran safeties Andre Chachere and Anthony Harris down on the practice squad in case they need extra bodies. The Eagles have yet to give an updated return timeline for Gardner-Johnson who suffered a lacerated kidney on November 27. The team chose not to place him on injured reserve.
Nick Sirianni Expresses Confidence in Gardner Minshew
The Eagles haven’t yet ruled out Jalen Hurts for Sunday, but the tea leaves are reading toward Gardner Minshew starting against Dallas. Head coach Nick Sirianni gave the veteran backup a full dose of confidence at Tuesday’s press conference, crediting his developmental reps this season as well as his high football intelligence.
“He’s what you want out of your backup quarterback, to be ready with limited reps,” Sirianni told reporters. “Gardner wasn’t here in the last training camp, right, two years ago training camp, and we gave him those developmental periods and he developed in the offense. We already knew he was a great player, but he developed in the offense so if his number got called, he would be ready to play, and he went out there and played. But it’s Gardner first and foremost, his ability to be able to do a lot without reps because of just how high his football IQ is.”
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