The best sign yet for Jalen Hurts’ availability heading into Eagles playoffs originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The Eagles on Tuesday afternoon waived quarterback Ian Book.
That’s the best sign yet that the Eagles expect to have starting quarterback Jalen Hurts (concussion) for their playoff game on Sunday against the Packers.
Book was signed to the practice squad on Dec. 26 just a few days after Hurts suffered his concussion in Washington and was then promoted to the active roster on Dec. 28. Book was one of three quarterbacks for each of the last two weeks while Hurts was inactive.
By releasing Book on Tuesday, the Eagles seemingly expect their other three quarterbacks — Hurts, Kenny Pickett and Tanner McKee — to be in uniform on Sunday at 4:30 p.m in the wild card round. The third quarterback must be on the 53-man roster to utilize the emergency quarterback rule, which allows the third QB to be inactive but available if the top two go down.
The Eagles will be back on the field on Wednesday afternoon and it seems likely Hurts will join his teammates at practice for the first time since before the concussion on Dec. 22.
Hurts, 26, suffered his concussion early against the Commanders and had to leave after just 12 snaps. He has missed the last two games. Head coach Nick Sirianni has been tight-lipped about the concussion but has said Hurts is progressing through the NFL’s concussion protocol.
This is also seemingly a positive sign for Pickett, who has been dealing with a ribs injury. Pickett broke his ribs against the Commanders and played into the second half against the Cowboys before getting knocked out of that game. McKee finished off the Cowboys and started in Week 18.
Earlier this week, Sirianni sidestepped a question about whether or not the Eagles have contemplated flipping those two backups on the depth chart.
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