Philadelphia updates quarterback Jalen Hurts' Wednesday practice designation

The Philadelphia Eagles are set to take on the Dallas Cowboys in a Christmas Eve matchup with likely significant playoff implications for both teams. However, Philadelphia finds themselves in a dilemma with quarterback Jalen Hurts. Hurts injured his throwing shoulder in the Eagles’ 25-20 victory over Chicago Bears on Sunday. And with the organization preparing to take on their heated NFC East rival on Saturday, the former Oklahoma Sooners quarterback’s health is being closely watched in practice.

For the Eagles’ practice on Wednesday, the team finally provided a practice designation for Hurts. Philadelphia listed him as ‘Did Not Practice’ due to his sprained shoulder.

Philadelphia has yet to make a decision on whether or not their starting quarterback will play on Saturday. But they have started to prepare backup quarterback Gardner Minshew to lead the team into battle against Dallas.

Hurts suffers sprained shoulder, status uncertain vs. Cowboys

Per Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network, Hurts suffered a sprained shoulder during Philadelphia’s 25-20 win over Chicago on Sunday. Although it’s not considered to be a long-term injury, Garafolo went on to say that Hurts’ status will be in doubt for the Eagle’s Christmas Eve matchup in Dallas against the Cowboys to protect him for their postseason run.

Hurts completed 22/37 passes this weekend against the Bears for 315 yards, no touchdowns, and two interceptions. It was his worst performance of the 2022 campaign as his season statistics now sit at 4,219 overall yards and 35 total touchdowns. That development in his game has been a massive part of getting Philadelphia to this point as they sit atop the league standings as of today.

Both the Eagles and Cowboys have already clinched playoff spots in 2022. With that said, Saturday night’s game will decide whether Philly clinches the NFC East or if Dallas still has a shot. It also leaves the door open to anyone else in the league’s MVP race to potentially make more of a case in Hurts’ absence. Still, if it’s in the best interest of the team’s playoff hopes, the Eagles have every right to err on the side of caution when it comes to their franchise’s quarterback.