Jalen Hurts has been trying to make a case to be the Eagles' quarterback of the present and future this preseason. That was put on pause Thursday.
Philadelphia's presumed starter was ruled out against the Patriots shortly after kickoff and sent to the hospital with an illness.
Eagles coach Nick Sirianni told reporters afterward that Hurts wasn't feeling well when he arrived at Lincoln Financial Field, but wanted to go through warmups in an attempt to play. With pain in his stomach lingering, the second-year-QB left the stadium to get evaluated. The team said the issue is not COVID-19 related, NFL Network's Mike Garafolo reported.
"Everything's good, and he's going to be OK," Sirianni said. "He had pain in his abdomen, which, for a guy like that to tell us, he's a tough guy, so it must have been hurting him pretty good for him to let us know about that."
After Hurts was scratched, starting offensive linemen Jason Kelce , Brandon Brooks and Lane Johnson were also held out. The entire offense struggled in their absence. Veteran Joe Flacco got the spot start and completed 10 of 17 passes for 83 yards and an interception in the Eagles' 35-0 loss. Nick Mullens played the second half and went 5 of 10 for 27 yards and also threw an INT.
Hurts played in just two series in Philly's preseason opener last week versus the Steelers, completing 3 of 7 passes for 54 yards. Though the 2020 second-rounder has gotten the lion's share of first-team reps in practice, Sirianni has thus far held off on naming a starter for the season opener.
The first-year coach was noncommittal about whether Hurts would play in the team's final preseason game next Friday, but said the two practices with the Jets beforehand will help his evaluation for Week 1.
"Those are like games, those (joint) practices are like games, so he's going to be able to get two more there," Sirianni said. "So I'm pretty confident that we'll get a lot of good work against the Jets."
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