Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts operated in individual drills with quarterbacks at Thursday’s practice after being listed as limited in the team walkthrough with a knee injury on Wednesday.
Expected to play in the NFC Championship game on Sunday, Hurts was injured in the third quarter of the divisional playoff win against the Los Angeles Rams last week. He finished the game but was less mobile and noticeably limited moving laterally. Hurts helped get the Eagles out front with a career-long 44-yard TD run in the first quarter.
Tight end Dallas Goedert (ankle) was also present at practice but there was no sign of center Cam Jurgens. Jurgens did not practice because of a back injury. Pro Bowl left guard Landon Dickerson took snaps at center on Thursday with Tyler Steen lined up at left guard.
Jurgens is a vital piece to the Eagles’ rushing attack and the left side of Philadelphia’s line has been elite when Dickerson and left tackle Jordan Mailata are healthy.
Commanders defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. offered a warning of sorts Thursday when discussing Hurts being used more like a running back than quarterback by offensive coordinator Kellen Moore.
“If he is going to run the ball, we are going to treat him like a running back. We are going to hit him that way,” Whitt Jr. said. “That’s their decision if they want to get him hit the way that he gets hit.”
Eagles coach Nick Sirianni downplayed the comments later Thursday.
“Every team is going to try to tackle Jalen like a running back. Running with the football, they’ll try to tackle him,” Sirianni said. “We’re ultimately cautious with how we use him. And how we think about each play. We know how important it is to have him out there. I wouldn’t expect anything else. Jalen knows how to take care of himself.”
–Field Level Media
