Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts has officially been ruled out for the Cowboys game on Sunday.
The Eagles will start Kenny Pickett.
Hurts missed all week of practice with the concussion he suffered in the first quarter against the Commanders. In that game, he was replaced by Pickett. Hurts remains in the NFL’s concussion protocol.
In addition to Hurts, running back Will Shipley (concussion) also missed the full week of practice and has been ruled out.
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Here’s the full injury report from Friday:
Out: QB Jalen Hurts (concussion), RB Will Shipley (concussion), WR Britain Covey (neck)
Doubtful: LB Nakobe Dean (abdomen)
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Questionable: DE Bryce Huff (wrist)
All three players who were limited on Thursday — WR A.J. Brown (rest, knee), DE Josh Sweat (rest, ankle) and Dean (abdomen) — were practicing on Friday. Brown and Sweat are good to go while Dean is doubtful.
Fellow linebacker Zack Baun on Thursday revealed that he would be wearing the green dot on his helmet this week. Baun said it was because the Eagles might use more of their dime package but it seemed more likely that the Eagles were preparing for the possibility Dean wouldn’t play. Expect Oren Burks to start if Dean doesn't play.
Covey (neck) was not at Friday’s practice. Covey had been a full participant but has now missed three straight games. It’s possible an IR trip could be coming for Covey because of the lingering inury.
The Eagles activated Huff's practice window last week. He has been on IR since late November when he had surgery on his wrist. If Huff is going to play this week, he'll need to be activated to the active roster by Saturday afternoon.
But the big news is obviously the quarterback position, where the Eagles will start someone other than Hurts for the first time since late in the 2022 season.
On Thursday afternoon, Pickett was already speaking like the starter.
“It’s a big opportunity,” Pickett said. “Been working hard to stay ready. Felt like I was in a good position last game with my preparation. Now having a week to practice, I’ll feel even better going into the stadium. I’m excited. Just want to get the win.”
Pickett isn’t 100 percent healthy either. He suffered a ribs injury during the loss to the Commanders and was listed as limited to start the week. While Pickett didn’t want to get into the specifics of his injury, he said he’ll be wearing some extra padding in his flak jacket this weekend. Pickett was limited in practice on Friday.
Against the Commanders, Pickett completed 14 of 23 passes for 143 yards with a touchdown and an interception in the Eagles’ 36-33 loss. But this week, the Eagles have been able to tailor their game plan more to Pickett and he has gotten significant reps with the first-team offense, including starting receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith.
“I think [Pickett has] had a nice week of practice,” Sirianni said. “He’s done a nice job and we’ve had some good practices and walkthroughs this week.:
This will be Pickett’s first start in over a calendar year. The former first-round pick was drafted by the Steelers and started 24 games for them before getting benched down the stretch in 2023.
The Eagles’ backup quarterbacks will be Tanner McKee and Ian Book, who was brought back to the practice squad this week.
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