With Three Games in 13 Days, Eagles' Approach to Jalen Hurts Could Change

It may seem logical that two extra days gives the QB a better chance to play, but it's what lies ahead that may give Philadelphia reason for pause

PHILADELPHIA – On Friday, Nick Sirianni was optimistic Jalen Hurts would play Sunday vs. Washington.

The Eagles put their starting through a pre-practice workout, and he checked all the boxes. Hurts then went out and got most of the first-team reps during Friday’s practice at Lincoln Financial Field.

“He was great,” said the Eagles head coach. “He's, obviously, been in this mentally all week and ready to go all week, you know, preparing like he's going all week, so I thought he had a great practice (Friday).

“Again, feel hopeful with where Jalen is and the way he practiced and the way he worked out, so I'm excited about where we are.”

That was before the NFL postponed Sunday’s game to Tuesday night at 7 p.m.

It seems logical that another two days for his ankle to heal even more, that he would no doubt play on the new day.

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That may not be the case, though.

Now, with three games in 13 days, perhaps the approach to playing Hurts has changed.

If he is not 100 percent, perhaps playing him on Sunday then giving him a couple of days off before practicing again leading up to next week’s game against the New York Giants made sense.

It was a normal schedule that allowed for a more normal healing process.

There are no days off after Tuesday before the New York Giants come to town, however, and just four days to get well again, not just for Hurts but every player.

That probably doesn’t help center Jason Kelce, who has been dinged with knee and ankle injuries in different games recently but has yet to miss a start.

Having just four days between playing again may not be in the best interests of Hurts’ left ankle, which was sprained against the Giants on Nov. 28.

Gardner Minshew played the following week against the New York Jets on Dec. 5.

That was the last game the Eagles played, so it will be 16 days between games for them, and 24 days for Hurts having to sit on a three-interception game against the Giants.

The extra two days created by the postponement did allow WR Quez Watkins and practice squad RB Jason Huntley to test negative for Covid and be activated from the virus list, which happened on Sunday, and it will certainly be beneficial for Miles Sanders (ankle) and Jordan Howard (knee), both of whom were set to play on Sunday.

Jalen Hurts :: Ed Kracz/SI.com Eagle Maven

It may even be that way for Hurts, but maybe instead of playing at less than, but close to, 100 percent may give the trainers, doctors, and strength staff reason for pause given what lies ahead after Tuesday night.

No matter what happens, postponing the game to Tuesday angered the Eagles.

They were a team that had done everything right, with just two players being placed on the Covid list. They were proactive in their approach, requiring masks inside the facility and moving players into larger meeting rooms.

Washington was a team that had done very little right in terms of staying healthy, having to place 21 players on the COVID list.

On Saturday, Washington got four defensive linemen back from the virus list: Jonathan Allen, James Smith-Williams, Montez Sweat, and Casey Toohill, who was a seventh-round draft pick of the Eagles in 2020 but who was claimed by Washington when the Eagles released him to make room for another player and had hoped to bring him back to the practice squad.

WFT coach Ron Rivera said Sunday that the "numbers are trending up" for QBs Taylor Heinicke and Kyle Allen, meaning they're getting closer to being cleared off the COVID list, per NFL Media's Mike Garafolo. Rivera added that it's hard to predict these things but it's moving in the right direction.

Philadelphia has no choice but to move on.

On Saturday, they had workouts and team meetings for players.

They held a walkthrough and more meetings on Sunday.

On Monday, they are scheduled to hold their same day-before-game routine. Also, the team will release the game-day status of players.

Hurts was going to be listed as questionable had the game been played when it was supposed to be played on Sunday.

Now, with an extra two days, what will his status be?

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Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Eagle Maven and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglemaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.