The Philadelphia Eagles will NOT be placing Jalen Hurts on injured reserve while the starting quarterback recovers from a “superficial blood clot,” according to a report from ESPN.
Not yet, at least.
Bold emphasis mine:
The team, according to sources, has not even discussed the possibility of injured reserve, which would sideline Hurts for a minimum of four weeks.
Hurts and the Eagles are still gathering more information and seeking additional medical opinions, with the quarterback’s health the foremost
consideration. They believe the blood clot is treatable, with Hurts trying to determine the best course, sources said. The ultimate decision about when Hurts returns to play will come from his medical team, and the Eagles are ready to follow his lead. There is still a chance Hurts eventually ends up on injured reserve, if that is the direction the medical information indicates.
The Eagles had until 4:00 PM Eastern on Saturday, October 17 to put Hurts on IR and have Week 6 count towards one of the four games he would be required to miss before being eligible to be activated.
By not putting him on IR, then, the Eagles are keeping the door open that he can play in Week 9 by the latest.
However, a clear timeline for Hurts’ recovery doesn’t seem to exist. At least not publicly. And this report acknowledges that Hurts might eventually end up on IR.
On one hand, I can understand the Eagles not putting Hurts on IR. It wouldn’t be ideal if he ended up being fine sooner than expected but he couldn’t play due to IR mechanics. I’m guessing Hurts doesn’t want to be placed on IR right now and that sentiment is relevant to the Eagles’ decision.
On the other hand, I wish the Eagles would put Hurts on IR in an effort to avoid any unrealistic expectations about him returning sooner than many would hope. The Eagles could also use the roster spot. With a retired Lane Johnson counting towards the limit all season long, the Eagles are already operating with a 52-player roster. And if Hurts is taking up a spot while missing a lot of games, it’ll effectively be a 51-player limit.
We’ll see if the Eagles end up changing their minds down the road.
