Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts took another big step toward returning to the lineup on Thursday when he was listed as a full participant in practice.
That is the next and most crucial step in his quest to exit the league's concussion protocol, which would allow him to return for Sunday's wild-card game against the Green Bay Packers.
Hurts has been sidelined since the first quarter of Week 16 when he suffered a concussion in the team's loss to the Washington Commanders. He did not play in the Eagles' final two regular-season games and has remained in concussion protocol.
He initially returned to the practice field on Wednesday in a limited capacity. If everything checks out before Friday, he should be able to play Sunday.
While the Eagles have one of the NFL's best running games centered around running back Saquon Barkley, it is hard to imagine them going on a Super Bowl run with backups Kenny Pickett or Tanner McKee at quarterback.
Hurts has been outstanding in the second half of the season. Over his past 12 games, he has thrown 15 touchdown passes and only one interception. He also had a passer rating of 108.0 or better in eight of those past 12 games.
If he is healthy, the Eagles offense has as much high-end talent as any team in football, with Barkley running behind a dominant offensive line and a pair of No. 1 wide receivers in A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith.
