Injured Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts will miss Saturday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys, with Gardner Minshew instead getting the start, coach Nick Sirianni said Thursday.
“Gardner will be our guy and Gardner will be ready,” Sirianni said. “Gardner worked his butt off for this opportunity against a really good football team. He had a great practice [Wednesday].”
Hurts suffered a sprained right shoulder in Sunday’s loss to the Chicago Bears when he was driven into the ground by defensive lineman Trevis Gipson following a 3-yard run.
“He’s disappointed because he wants to play. He’s the toughest guy I know,” Sirianni said about Hurts. “But we have to do what’s best as an organization to put us in a safe spot because he will play through anything.
“… Jalen did everything he possibly could to get his body ready to go. At the end of the day, he’s not going to be able to do it. He tried like crazy. I know he still wants to go. That’s just the toughness. Jalen Hurts is the toughest player I’ve ever been around.”
The Eagles (13-1) need just one more win to clinch the No. 1 seed in the NFC. Minshew and the Eagles can wrap up the division title and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs with a win vs. Dallas.
The 24-year-old Hurts has had a breakout season, accounting for 35 total touchdowns (22 passing, 13 rushing) to tie Randall Cunningham’s franchise record while passing for 3,472 yards and rushing for 747 yards in 14 games. He has had just five passes intercepted and is completing 67.3% of his attempts.