Does Eagles QB Jalen Hurts have an ankle issue? Nick Sirianni may or may not have slipped up.
Hurts was listed as out Wednesday due to ‘rest,’ but that’s not what Sirianni said Friday.
Nick Sirianni on Friday indicated that Jalen Hurts is dealing with an ankle issue, despite the quarterback being listed on the injury report with a “rest” designation.
The Eagles coach may have slipped up when asked Friday about what went into his quarterback’s load management day two days prior.
Here’s the awkward exchange that followed:
Sirianni: “He was dealing with — it was on the injury report — dealing with the ankle. Just making sure we’re precautious with everything.”
Eagles PR: “It was a rest.”
Sirianni: “That was a rest, yeah. Sorry. I thought you were talking about something else.”
Reporter: “Is Jalen dealing with an ankle problem?”
Sirianni: “No. Rest.”
It is rare for Hurts to take a load management day. In fact, it has never happened. But the Eagles on Wednesday listed their quarterback as a limited participant due to “rest,” and Hurts when asked about it after a walk-through that day said: “I just do what I’m told.”
The Eagles play Sunday in Dallas and won’t return home until the wee hours of Monday morning. They then face a quick turnaround before hosting Washington on Thursday night in a game that could determine who heads into Week 12 as the NFC East leader.
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Hurts was listed as a full participant on Thursday, and a rest day on Wednesday, while rare, didn’t raise too many eyebrows. That is, until Friday.
The Eagles do have two players listed on the injury report this week with ankle injuries: Mekhi Becton and Ainias Smith. There are no other Jalens on the injury report. Defensive tackle Jalen Carter was on last week’s report with a shoulder injury.
Hurts spent the opening portion of practice stretching on a side field along with trainers mostly out of view of cameras before jogging over to rejoin the rest of the Eagles quarterbacks during the part of practice open to media. He didn’t have any apparent taping over his cleats and took his usual spot in the group’s throwing drills while the rest of the team went through stretches.
The Eagles try to keep injury statuses close to the vest for competitive advantage, but the NFL does have specific rules about how injuries are to be reported and shared.
The league “requires that teams provide credible, accurate, and specific information about injured players to the league office, their opponents, local and national media, and the league’s broadcast partners each week during the regular season and postseason.”
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There are punishments for not following those rules.
The 49ers were in the spotlight when the season started because of how they treated the reporting of Christian McCaffrey’s injury designation before their Week 1 game, but the league ultimately ruled that San Francisco had not violated the policy.
Last year, the Atlanta Falcons were fined $75,000, and then-head coach Arthur Smith was fined $25,000 for violating the injury report policy. Running back Bijan Robinson was not listed on the injury report and barely played due to an illness.
Similar fines were handed out to the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2019 — $75,000 for the team, $25,000 for coach Mike Tomlin — when quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was, similarly to Hurts, listed on the practice report with a rest designation and ended up having an elbow injury.
Injury report
The Eagles did not have any players on the active roster miss practice in any capacity Friday. Every player that appeared on the injury report this week was a full participant.
Only one player, Ben VanSumeren, is carrying an injury designation into Sunday’s game. VanSumeren is questionable with a concussion.
Tune into Gameday Central on Sunday as Olivia Reiner and EJ Smith discuss all the key questions surrounding the Eagles’ matchup with the Dallas Cowboys.