Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts took his first step toward preparing to play the Washington Commanders in Sunday’s NFC Championship Game, participating in Wednesday’s walkthrough on a limited basis.
Hurts spoke to reporters after practice and said he believed he was on track to play this Sunday.
"I'm progressing, taking it a day at a time," Hurts said.
When asked if he thought he would be able to play at his usual level, he replied with more of a wait-and-see approach.
"Every game is different, so I just want to take it a day at a time and keep progressing," Hurts said.
Earlier in the day, head coach Nick Sirianni also noted that rookie cornerback Quinyon Mitchell, who was ruled out of this past Sunday’s Divisional Round win over the Los Angeles Rams with a shoulder injury, would participate in Wednesday’s walkthrough. Like Hurts, Mitchell was listed as a limited participant in Wednesday's session.
Hurts appeared to tweak his left knee in the win over the Rams when he was hit awkwardly on one of the seven sacks he took in the game. Although Hurts didn’t miss a play in the game, he clearly was limited in his movement thereafter.
Immediately after the game, Hurts was mostly mum on the status of his knee but said, “I was able to finish the game. We'll see how the week goes,” before insisting that he'd be good to go on Sunday.
The Eagles already have their hands full for this weekend's game against the Commanders and their star rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels. The teams split their two regular-season meetings, and the Eagles held Daniels in check in the earlier win in Philadelphia.
But in the rematch in Washington in Week 16, Daniels accounted for five TDs and 349 yards of offense in the Commanders’ 36-33 victory. In that game, Hurts did not return after suffering a concussion on a first-quarter run.
Sirianni was asked on Wednesday about the impending QB showdown and whether he feels that Hurts’ competitiveness will be ratcheted up going against Daniels. The coach believes Hurts will bring the same level of competitiveness that he always does.
“I think what I love most about Jalen Hurts is that he's consistent and that he's the same-level guy all the time,” Sirianni told reporters. “No matter who we're playing, when we're playing, (whatever) game, he's consistent. He's the same guy. He loves football. He loves the process that it takes. He loves the weight room.
“Jalen's pretty stoic, as you guys know, and I love that about him. Same thing I said about Jayden Daniels -- that he's calm, cool -- I feel the exact same thing about Jalen Hurts. I don't think he gets wrapped too much into that. He's wrapped into winning each and every football game. I love that about our quarterback and how he goes (about) his business every day."