Eagles injury update: Jalen Hurts clears concussion protocol originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts has cleared the NFL’s concussion protocol, head coach Nick Sirianni said Friday afternoon.
Hurts will play Sunday as the Eagles host the Packers in the playoffs.
Hurts, 26, suffered a concussion in Week 16 against the Commanders. He lasted just 12 snaps in that game before being scratched and then missing the final two weeks of the regular season.
This week, Hurts returned to practice as a limited participant on Wednesday and was a full participant on Thursday. He was cleared by an independent neurologist, final phase of the concussion protocol, and was allowed to return.
“He had a really good week of practice,” Sirianni said. “A very good week.”
Meanwhile, DeVonta Smith did not practice Friday due to back soreness. The Eagles expect Smith to play Sunday, but they kept him from practice to ensure his back doesn’t tighten up.
Their other star receiver, AJ Brown (knee/rest), was limited early in the week and was held out of practice Thursday. But Brown practiced Friday and the Eagles expect Brown to play Sunday in the wild card round.
Brown has been dealing with this injury for a few weeks and the Eagles are trying to manage him to ensure he is as close to 100 percent as possible by Sunday.
“You’ll see the injury report, today’s practice report,” Sirianni said. “But give him a bit of a rest at this stage of the season. It’s been a long road, so give him some rest yesterday to make sure he’s in the best possible shape to play on Sunday.
The Eagles held their final practice of the week at Lincoln Financial Field Friday afternoon. They have been training at the stadium all week because the fields at the NovaCare complex are frozen.
Before Friday’s practice, the Eagles made some changes to their roster. They put OL Jack Driscoll on IR and signed OL Brett Toth to the active roster. They also signed WR Joe Ngata to the practice squad.
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