Head Coach Nick Sirianni said in a Tuesday morning appearance on SportsRadio 94 WIP that quarterback Jalen Hurts suffered a sprained right shoulder in the 25-20 win on Sunday in Chicago and that the injury is "not something that we deem to be long term."
Sirianni offered no timeline on Hurts' recovery and said that the star quarterback is "attacking his rehab" as the Eagles prepare for Saturday's 4:25 PM kickoff against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium.
The injury occurred in the third quarter of Sunday's win over the Bears when Hurts was tackled by Chicago's Trevis Gipson, who then landed with his full body weight on Hurts. After spending a moment or two on the ground, Hurts was helped up to his feet and finished the game strong.
Hurts completed 7 of 10 passes for 110 yards – including a 68-yard deep ball to A.J. Brown – and ran 4 times for 11 yards and a touchdown (adding two kneeldowns to end the game) after the injury.
"He doesn't normally stay down," Sirianni said. "But the next play, he threw a stop route to DeVonta Smith on the sideline and we were all like, 'OK, let's go.'"
Hurts has been outstanding in 2022, throwing for 3,472 yards, with 22 touchdowns and five interceptions, and he has been a force running the football, gaining 747 yards and 13 touchdowns on 156 rushing attempts to lead the Eagles to a 13-1 record. The Eagles are one win away from clinching the NFC East title and the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs.
If Hurts isn't able to suit up against Dallas, Gardner Minshew will be the starter and the Eagles have full confidence in the fourth-year quarterback. Minshew joined the Eagles prior to the 2021 regular season via a trade with Jacksonville and played well when called upon – he completed 41 of 60 passes for 439 yards, 4 touchdowns, and an interception. With Hurts hampered by an ankle injury, Minshew started the December 5 game against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium and completed 20 of 25 passes for 242 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and also ran 4 times for 11 yards as the Eagles won a critical road game coming off of their bye week.
This season, in limited duty, of course, Minshew has appeared in 3 games, completing 2 of 4 passes for 34 yards. Minshew has 22 starts in his NFL career with 41 touchdown passes and 12 interceptions.
"This guy is a great backup quarterback that could be starting on teams in this league, and we know that," Sirianni said of Minshew. "He doesn't need a lot of reps. He's ready to go because of the football IQ he has, the intelligence he has.
"If he has to go, we'll have 100 percent confidence in him because he can ball. He proved that last year. I think he's proven that throughout his career.
"He's a winner. He's a winner. That's all he knows how to do."
"We all know what Gardner can do," Offensive Coordinator Shane Steichen said of Minshew in the preseason. "He prepares every week and he's ready to go. Smart guy. Gets the ball out of his hand. Efficient. Knows where to go with it. He's a total pro. He can step in and run our offense, as we've seen, so there are no concerns at all about him playing."
