Eagles QB Jalen Hurts Ankle Surgery on 'Hardware'; Injury Update on NFL's Highest-Paid Player

Eagles QB Jalen Hurts, the NFL's highest-paid player, had a minor ankle surgery related to an old college injury.

PHILADELPHIA - Fresh off agreeing to a record-breaking extension, news broke on Tuesday that Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts had ankle surgery earlier this offseason.

The February procedure was on Hurts' right ankle to remove "hardware" that had been inserted after the quarterback suffered a high-ankle sprain while playing for the University of Alabama in an October 2018 game against Tennessee, according to ESPN's Tim McManus.

The procedure was considered minor and Hurts was able to quickly return to his offseason workouts, per the report.

Fresh off a record-breaking five-year, $255 million extension agreed to on Monday, Hurts is expected to be a full go when the Eagles' offseason training program begins on April 24.

Hurts also underwent surgery on his left ankle in February of 2022 related to a high-ankle sprain he suffered against the New York Giants in November 2021. He missed just one game due to that injury before returning and helping Philadelphia make the playoffs in his first full season as a starter.

Hurts aggravated the issue in the playoff loss to Tampa Bay in January of 2022 and showed up to the post-game press conference in a walking boot.

Last season Hurts was the runner-up to Patrick Mahomes in the MVP race after going 14-1 as the Eagles' starting QB in the regular season and following that with wins over the New York Giants and San Francisco in the NFC Championship Game before falling just short against Mahomes and Kansas City in Super Bowl LVII.

Hurts was given over $179 million in guarantees on his new deal and the average annual value of $51 million on the deal is the largest in NFL history. He also received the first no-trade clause in franchise history.

-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's Eagles Today and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Football 24/7 and a daily contributor to ESPN South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen