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Tim McManus, ESPN Staff Writer
PHILADELPHIA — Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said he is not worried about quarterback Jalen Hurts showing signs of rust should he clear concussion protocol and play in Sunday’s wild-card playoff game against the Green Bay Packers.
Hurts suffered a concussion in the first quarter against the Washington Commanders on Dec. 22 and sat out the team’s final two games of the regular season. He remains in the protocol but is “progressing” through the process, Sirianni has said.
“We’ve got so much faith in him and the things he can do,” Sirianni said Monday during his appearance on 94.1 WIP. “This is why you practice the way we practice. Practice is high intensity. We feel like we have a great practice plan and our guys go about their business in practice very game-like. That’s where you work out your kinks or anything that you have, just being locked in and focused all week.
“We’ve got a lot of faith in Jalen as he gets ready to play the football game.”
Sirianni confirmed Hurts was present at Saturday’s walkthrough prior to their regular-season finale against the New York Giants — a game in which many key starters sat with the Eagles locked into the NFC’s No. 2 seed. He has been in the facility over the past couple weeks, sources said. On Monday, offensive coordinator Kellen Moore indicated he has been able to communicate with Hurts about the game plan for this week.
Multiple sources in contact with Hurts have expressed optimism about him playing against Green Bay, but it ultimately comes down to whether he’s able to make it through all the stages of the protocol, including being cleared by an independent neurological consultant.
There will be much attention paid to whether Hurts is able to practice Wednesday as the Eagles begin their on-field prep for the Packers.
Kenny Pickett replaced Hurts in the lineup against Washington but injured his ribs in the game. He started the following week against the Dallas Cowboys and was replaced by Tanner McKee after absorbing a couple hard hits early in the second half.
McKee got the start against New York and tossed a pair of touchdowns in a winning effort.
Sirianni would not say who the No. 2 QB would be if Hurts gets the start.
“There’s always circumstances each and every week of different players [dealing with injuries],” Moore said on whether it’s difficult to game plan with uncertainty at the quarterback position. “Certainly quarterback is a very big focus and certainly should be, but there’s other positions we’ve dealt with this, where you’re aware of those different variables.”