Jalen Hurts Has A Sprained Shoulder, Could Miss Time
Some rumors, and the Vegas line for the Eagles game swinging wildly, set Eagles Twitter into panic Monday afternoon. But you can dial back the panic a little bit. Because the truth is far less dire than many online initially feared. After the Bears game, where Jalen Hurts took some hard hits, he got X-Rays on his shoulder. There was no broken collar bone as many wildly speculated. Instead, he has a sprained shoulder and could miss 1-2 weeks.
It's a shoulder sprain for Eagles QB Jalen Hurts, source says.
— Tim McManus (@Tim_McManus) December 19, 2022
This does put his status for Saturday’s game in jeopardy. Adam Schefter reported that there is a chance Jalen Hurts will not play and that Gardner Minshew will start for the Eagles. A sprained shoulder has a usual recovery time of 1-2 weeks, so it is not a long-term issue. But it seems like he may miss some time.
Thankfully the Eagles do have some room to work with. After their win over the Bears, and the Cowboys’ loss in Jacksonville, the Eagles’ magic number is 1. One win over these final 3 games, or 1 Cowboys loss, will clinch the NFC East for them. And then they would need just one win or 1 Vikings loss to clinch the top seed in the NFC. The Eagles play the Cowboys in Dallas on Saturday and then come home to face the Saints and Giants in the final two weeks.
Not the best of news, but also not quite as bad as many seemed to think it would be once the Vegas lines started shifting suddenly. Even if it keeps him out of some regular season games, it would not impact his status for the playoffs. Especially considering the Eagles seem likely to have a first-round bye week. It could impact Jalen Hurts’ status as the MVP favorite of course, but his health for the playoffs is far more important than that.
