It’s official; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts(shoulder) will miss Saturday’s game against the Cowboys. In his place, Gardner Minshew will get the start.
Last season, in his only start, Minshew was very effective as he threw for 242 yards and two touchdowns in the team’s 33-18 win over the Jets.
On Friday, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said Hurts did everything he could to get on the field, but he was just not healthy enough to play.
“Yeah, it’s looking like it’s going to be [QB] Gardner [Minshew],” Sirianni said. “[QB] Jalen [Hurts] did everything he possibly could to get his body ready to go, and just at the end of the day, he’s not going to be able to do it.
“Man, he tried like crazy, and I know he still wants to go. That’s just the toughness [he has]. Jalen Hurts is the toughest player I’ve ever been around. My brother and I talked last night. I talk to my brothers at the end the week all the time. He’s in recruiting now. He’s not out here, but he needs to get some of the good Eastern Pennsylvania players over there in Western Pennsylvania.
“He’s like, ‘Man, how did he play through that? Like he did that to his shoulder?’ [I said] ‘Yep, yep, that’s what he did.’ [He said] ‘How did he throw any passes after that?’ I go, ‘Because he’s the toughest son of a gun that I’ve ever been around.’
“For him to go out there and do what he did after he had that sprained shoulder was really truly remarkable that he was able to go and not just play, but play really well.
“He’s so tough. But we just felt like it’s the best thing that he doesn’t play this week. His body is not there yet. Gardner will be our guy, and Gardner will be ready. Gardner worked his butt off for this opportunity against a really good football team and had a great practice yesterday.
“I think you guys have all heard that, how good a practice he had yesterday. A lot of energy out there. He’s ready to go.”
When asked if Hurts would be ready next week against the Saints, Sirianni did not want to say.
“You know I’m not going to go there yet,” he said. “We’ll take it one day at a time, one game at a time, obviously. Again, like I said, he’s worked his butt off to try to get himself back. We’ll see day by day of where he is.”
There’s no reason to rush Hurts back, especially with Saturday’s game not being a must-win situation. Hopefully, for the Eagles, Minshew can get the job done. If not, they can still clinch the number one seed in the NFC if they defeat the Saints at the Linc.
