Philadelphia Eagles starting quarterback Jalen Hurts has entered concussion protocol, Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said at a press conference Monday. Sirianni had no update on backup quarterback Kenny Pickett, who had an X-ray for a rib injury after Sunday’s loss against the Washington Commanders.
Philadelphia hosts the Dallas Cowboys in Week 17. Sirianni said the team would lean on the doctors to let them know where Hurts is at. While he wouldn’t say what would happen if Hurts wasn’t cleared until late in the week without having practiced, Sirianni expressed confidence that his star QB could be ready at a moment’s notice.
“Jalen knows how to prepare. Knows how to get himself ready. He is a true pro,” Sirianni said. “I just can’t say enough good things about Jalen the leader, Jalen the player and Jalen the person. Every week is a little bit different and I know Jalen does everything he can to get ready for each and every week regardless of the circumstances.”
For Hurts to be cleared to play, he has to pass a five-phase protocol that starts with symptom-limited activity and moves to aerobic exercise, football-specific exercise, non-contact training drills and lastly full football activity and clearance.
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Hurts was ruled out with a concussion in the first half of the team’s game against Washington on Sunday. He was slow to get up after a 13-yard run in the first quarter and officials had him exit the game. Hurts went into the medical tent and came out a few plays later before heading to the locker room to be evaluated. The two-time Pro Bowler exited Sunday’s game with 41 yards rushing and 1-of-4 passing for 11 yards.
“He always has done a good job of protecting himself and been dynamic both as a passer and a runner,” Sirianni said. “Anytime something goes down and you lose one of your best players, you wish they’d do something else or not take that hit in that scenario. We always run runs that protect him and we always want him to protect himself. This is an unfortunate part of football — the injuries that happen and sometimes it’s with head injuries and you never want to see that because you always want what’s best for your players and their well being. Obviously, we don’t want him to take that hit.”
Pickett played the rest of the way — completing 14-of-24 pass attempts for 143 yards, one touchdown and one interception. After the game, Pickett said he had an X-ray but that he was not concerned about his status if he needs to start in Week 17.
Sirianni had no update on Pickett but thought the third-year player played well against Washington.
“Kenny did some really good things yesterday,” Sirianni said. “Obviously, we missed Jalen. He’s a great football player who has had tremendous success and led us to a lot of victories. So we missed him and his contributions to the team and leading the team. Kenny, under the circumstances, came in and did a nice job — played good football and gave us a chance to win the football game. Obviously, he is going to want some plays back but he did a lot of good things.”
In the event that Hurts and Pickett can’t play, Philadelphia would likely turn to third-string QB Tanner McKee, a second-year player out of Stanford. McKee has yet to play in a NFL game but Sirianni said he has confidence in him should the need arise.
“Tanner has done a good job in scout team and developmental periods,” Sirianni said. “Tanner gives us a lot of confidence. Kenny gives us a lot of confidence and that is a tribute to (general manager) Howie (Roseman) and his staff and all the pieces he has given us to work with and the depth that he has given us to work with. We’ve had to play deep into our o-line, depth into our secondary and yesterday we had to play deep into our quarterback. Got a lot of confidence in the guys that are on this roster — both the 53-man roster and the practice squad.”
Philadelphia’s 10-game winning streak was snapped in the 36-33 loss against Washington on Sunday. After the Eagles fell behind 28-27, Pickett orchestrated a 12-play, 34-yard drive that resulted in a field goal to put Philly back in front 30-28. Following another field goal in the fourth quarter to put the Eagles up five, the Philadelphia defense gave up the game-winning touchdown with six seconds left.
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The Eagles (12-3) have a two-game lead in the NFC East over the Commanders. One more win would secure the division title for Philadelphia and no lower than the No. 2 seed in the NFC. They also remain in the mix for the top seed — a game behind a pair of NFC North foes in the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings.
Hurts has thrown for 2,903 yards, 18 touchdowns and five interceptions this season, and rushed for 630 yards and 14 touchdowns. Combined with Saquon Barkley — the NFL’s leading rusher — Philadelphia has the league’s best rushing attack (averaging 187.9 yards per game). In the passing game, Hurts has connected with big-play receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith for 113 of his 248 completions.
The Eagles acquired Pickett in a March trade with the Pittsburgh Steelers, who drafted the quarterback in the 2022 first round. He has now appeared in four games with the Eagles, completing 15-of-27 pass attempts for 148 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
What will change for the Eagles if Pickett starts?
As soon as Hurts was ruled out with a concussion against the Commanders, the Eagles knew there could be a possibility they’d be playing without Hurts against the Cowboys. Sirianni, always conservative on pegging injury timelines, knows his starting quarterback’s timeline in the concussion protocol is unpredictable.
The timing of the injury, of course, is not ideal. But, this is the very reason the Eagles organization significantly invests in backup quarterbacks. They won their only Super Bowl with Nick Foles after starter Carson Wentz suffered a season-ending ACL tear in 2017. This instance isn’t as severe but the Eagles are still trying to clinch the NFC East in their final two games.
If Pickett must play against the Cowboys on Sunday, Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore must amend a run game that no longer has its dual-threat option. The zone-read game is a major piece of their offense. The threat of Hurts takes pressure off Saquon Barkley and also opens up the passing game in play-action situations. Barkley rushed for 41 yards after totaling 109 yards and two touchdowns in the first quarter against Commanders.
Pickett said the Eagles “had some” of the zone-read game “still on the table.” Pickett rushed for 237 yards and three touchdowns during his rookie season with the Steelers. However, Pittsburgh pulled back on running Pickett last season. He only rushed 42 times for 54 yards. Against the Commanders, Pickett had to fulfill a game plan centered around Hurts. Although it’s possible Hurts could start against the Cowboys, Moore and Pickett will have ample time this week to tailor this week’s plan to the backup’s skills.
“It’s the first time Kellen’s had to call a game with me in there,” Pickett said. “This is a first time for everybody, really working together in this kind of environment.” — Brooks Kubena, Eagles beat writer
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(Photo: Scott Taetsch / Getty Images)
