According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Philadelphia Eagles do not plan to place quarterback Jalen Hurts on Injured Reserve, despite the star being sidelined indefinitely with a blood clot.
Hurts was cleated in the Eagles’ 24-20 loss to the Los Angeles Rams during Week 4. Last week, he traveled with the team to London, and the team performed a precautionary ultrasound on October 10th, which is when the blood clot was discovered. Hurts played in the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, going 21-40 for 220 yards and 1 touchdown. Philadelphia lost to Jacksonville 19-17, falling to 2-3.
This week he had a mandatory follow-up ultrasound, which revealed that the blood clot had moved. It was then announced that Hurts would miss this week’s game against the Carolina Panthers and likely miss much more time. As of the time of writing, his status is listed as “out indefinitely”.
Everything seems to be going wrong for the Eagles this year. Just two seasons removed from a dominant Super Bowl run, the wheels are coming off. Earlier this month, offensive tackle Lane Johnson announced his retirement, a rare move midseason. Running back Saquon Barkley will miss his second straight game this week with a hamstring injury. Hurts is out indefinitely, and the Eagles are sub-.500, a place they haven’t been in recent memory.
Some of the team’s poor performance can be attributed to Hurts mediocre play this season. He has thrown for 933 yards, 8 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions while only completing 57.8% of his passes. His inability to consistently push the ball downfield has become a major source of frustration for Eagles fans. Hurts has always been a limited passer, but without wide receiver A. J. Brown, that issue has become even more prominent.
Now Philadelphia will turn to Tanner McKee as their starter. McKee was a 6th-round pick out of Stanford in the 2023 NFL draft. He has made two starts so far, going 1-1 with 597 yards, 5 touchdowns, and 1 interception. The Eagles also signed quarterback Joe Milton from the Dallas Cowboys’ practice squad. Milton often stands out in the preseason because of his immense arm strength; he should be a decent break-glass option if McKee doesn’t perform well.
