The Philadelphia Eagles lost starting quarterback Jalen Hurts to a concussion during their Week 16 game against the Washington Commanders, with the NFL All-Pro and 2-time Pro Bowler ruled out of the game after a hit from Washington linebacker Frankie Luvu in the first half.
“Hurts left the field midway through the first quarter after his head collided with the turf as he was hit by linebacker Frankie Luvu while going to the ground following a 13-yard run,” ESPN’s Tim McManus wrote on December 22. “After being evaluated in the medical tent, he walked inside and was later ruled out. Kenny Pickett, the former Pittsburgh Steelers signal-caller, replaced him in the lineup and completed the drive by throwing a 4-yard touchdown pass to A.J. Brown to give the Eagles a 14-0 lead.”
Headed into Week 16, Hurts had led the Eagles to a 12-2 record and 10 consecutive victories — he’s also yet to miss a game this season due to injury. The Commanders rallied for a 36-33 win with Hurts sidelined to end the Eagles’ 10-game winning streak.
Following the game, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni addressed the injury to Hurts — there was a brief moment after the injury where both Hurts and Sirianni seemed prepared to have him go back in the game.
“I haven’t talked to the medical staff so I don’t have any updates on that stuff (about Hurts),” Sirianni said in the postgame press conference. “Anything to do with the head, that’s out of our hands.”
Hurts Already Dealing With One Injury
Hurts’ concussion was just the latest injury he’s had to deal with over the last month.
On December 16, Hurts told The Associated Press he’s playing with a broken finger on his left, non-throwing hand following a 27-13 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 15 in which he went 25-of-32 passing for 290 yards, 2 touchdowns and no interceptions while also rushing for 45 yards and 1 touchdown.
From the AP: “It’s broken, and it did impact my play,” Hurts said. ““I’ve known it’s been at the state it’s at all week, and I don’t really want to put too much more into it. I can say I don’t think it got any worse today. If it’s shattered, it’s shattered. It is what it is.”
Hurts apparently hurt his finger in a Week 14 win over the Carolina Panthers in which he was 14-of-21 passing for 108 yards, 2 touchdowns and no interceptions while also rushing for 59 yards and 1 touchdown.
It was the lowest passing total for Hurts since the regular-season finale in 2023 — a 27-10 loss to the New York Giants in which Hurts also dealt with a finger injury. In that game, he threw for just 55 yards and sat out the second half.
Hurts has been one of the NFL’s most durable quarterbacks throughout his career.
Since becoming the Eagles’ full time starter in 2021, Hurts has missed just 4 games — 2 games in 2021 with a high ankle sprain and 2 games in 2022 with a shoulder issue. He played all 17 regular-season games for the Eagles in 2023.
Eagles Have Solid Backup QB Plan in Place
As far as backup quarterbacks go, Pickett is probably one of the better options in the entire NFL — a former first round pick with multiple seasons of starting experience who is only 26 years old and has a similarly styled game to Hurts.
Pickett was a first round pick by the Steelers in 2022 and went 14-10 as a starter through 2 seasons before he was traded to the Eagles along with a 2024 fourth round pick in exchange for a 2024 third round pick and a pair of 2025 seventh round picks after the Steelers signed free agent quarterback Russell Wilson.
