Eagles' Jalen Hurts pushes back against injury narrative

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts insists the injuries he's picked up over the past two seasons aren't related to his specific style of play. 

"I don’t know that I’ve ever been banged up as a runner," Hurts explained on Wednesday, according to Dan Gelston of The Associated Press. "Everything comes from within the pocket. The illusion is — or the narrative is — that we run the ball. That’s not always the case. Not here." 

Hurts missed back-to-back games late in the 2022 regular season with a sprained throwing shoulder that bothered him throughout the playoffs and later had offseason surgery on his left ankle. After Hurts and the Eagles agreed to a five-year contract extension reportedly worth up to $255M with $179.3M guaranteed, both he and head coach Nick Sirianni said that the 25-year-old wouldn't change how he plays. That was before the signal-caller was spotted wearing a left knee brace in the second half of this past Sunday's win over the Miami Dolphins.

Sirianni sounded unconcerned on Monday about his quarterback's status for this coming Sunday's matchup at the 3-4 Washington Commanders, and subsequent reports indicated Hurts will start for the 6-1 Eagles at FedExField.

"I don’t want to make it bigger than what it is," Hurts said Wednesday about a knee issue that began bothering him at some point before the game against the Dolphins. "I think it’s something that comes with every player in this league. Things happen in this league and you just try to avoid them." 

According to ESPN stats, no player threw more interceptions than Hurts (eight) over the season's first seven weeks, but he is also ranked eighth among qualified players with a 61.9 adjusted QBR on the campaign. He's thrown nine touchdown passes and added six scores on the ground for a Philadelphia team that currently sits atop the overall NFC standings. 

As of late Wednesday afternoon, OddsChecker listed the Eagles as six-and-a-half-point favorites against the Commanders.