Jalen Hurts Returning To Practice As Healthy Eagles Gear Up For Playoffs

Philadelphia Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said his quarterback will practice on Wednesday when the team goes to the Linc and dons full pads to get ready for wildcard weekend.

Dec 22, 2024; Landover, Maryland, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) warms up before the game against the Washington Commanders at Northwest Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-Imagn Images / Peter Casey-Imagn Images

PHILADELPHIA – The Eagles will practice at Lincoln Financial Field on Wednesday in the late afternoon, where it will be like it is everywhere else in the tri-state area - terribly cold and windy. The practice will also mark the return of quarterback Jalen Hurts.

“He’ll be back out there today,” said head coach Nick Sirianni on Wednesday, hours before the Eagles were scheduled to practice at 3:35. "We’ll get you the injury report after practice, so we’ll see how it goes.”

Hurts hasn’t been seen since entering the NFL’s concussion protocol after hitting his head on the turf at Northwest Stadium against the Commanders on Dec. 22. His appearance at practice doesn’t mean he is out of the league’s protocol. Still, one of the final steps is participating in a padded practice, and Sirianni said Wednesday’s practice would be fully padded.

How much Hurts participates won’t be known until the injury reports comes out at some point following practice. It’s very likely that Hurts will be listed as limited and then on Thursday be listed as a full participant. He would likely then talk to reporters either Thursday or Friday.

Sirianni was asked if the broken finger on Hurts' left hand has had more of a chance to heal since Hurts went out with a concussion, but he referred back to the injury report that will come out later. Hurts played with a broken ring finger on his non-throwing hand for a couple of games before suffering his concussion.

Since Hurts went out, his backups played well – Kenny Pickett and Tanner McKee. Both played well enough to wonder which one will be Hurts’ backup and which will be designated the emergency quarterback in Sunday’s wildcard home game against the Green Bay Packers. It could be McKee, but maybe only because Pickett could still be dealing with broken ribs that sent him out after the first half of his start against the Dallas Cowboys two weeks ago.

Jalen Hurts warms up for a practice leading up to a Week 13 game in Baltimore against the Ravens. / Ed Kracz/Eagles on SI

With Hurts trending toward playing, the Eagles will be fully healthy for their win-or-go-home game against the Packers, which is no easy feat considering the grueling four months it takes to complete an NFL season.

The Packers, for instance, will likely be without Christian Watson (knee), who is one of their top receivers, and cornerback Jaire Alexander (knee), who has been out since Week 10.

 Sirianni said there are several reasons the Eagles will enter the playoffs with all 22 starters from the Week 1 opener against the Packers healthy.

“It’s a balance that a lot of people contribute to,” he said. “Ultimately I have to make the final decisions and what I think it best for the team on how we practice and all those different things, but we have to get a lot of contributions from the strength staff, the training staff, the doctors; couldn’ t do that without them.

“Then you also talk to the players on how they’re feeling. Always being in constant communication with them. But at the end of day, luck has something to do with it because there are some unlucky situations that happen where you lose guys, but you can’t say enough about how much the guys have put into taking care of their bodies … these guys have to go out and do it and they’ve taken a lot of pride in taking care of their bodies and taking care of themselves.”

More NFL: One Player Makes It All Work For Packers And Will Challenge Eagles