Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni ‘hopeful’ in relation to team injuries

Injuries are just a part of the game. How often have you heard that? If you’ve been a fan of the game for a while, you’ve heard it plenty. If that’s a statement that’s unfamiliar, just hang on. You’ll hear it at some point. The Philadelphia Eagles have gone down the road of such familiar territory and made a few turns onto the next-man-up boulevard quite often over the past few seasons, but in 2021, things have been different.

We’ve reached Week 14, the bye, and though there are concerns with the overall health of the roster, the Birds aren’t as banged up as they normally are. The most recent win, however, a 33-18 spanking of the New York Jets, was costly.

Philly could only watch as four players including three starters left the field and didn’t return. There’s no game to play this week, but as you might imagine, everyone’s curious about everyone’s status.

Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni provides injury updates heading into the bye.

Things are much calmer around the NovaCare Complex following the Eagles’ second game in as many weeks at MetLife Stadium than they were following the first. A win will do that for you even if said win came versus the lowly New York Jets.

On the Monday that followed, head coach Nick Sirianni, as he always does, spoke with various members of the media, and right out of the gate, he answered questions about a few high-profile members of his roster stating he’s ‘hopeful’ that Jason Kelce will be ready to go after the bye (even if he doesn’t want to put a timetable on his return.

Here’s some of what he said about everyone else:

"(It’s) the same thing with Jordan Howard. I’m not going to put a timetable on anything, but we’re hopeful. We know that his rehab is progressing. He’s doing better each day… I’ll have more information after the bye week there with Brandon Brooks."

Coach also states that Patrick Johnson and Steven Nelson should be good to go after the bye, and that offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland is back to feeling well. He was dealing with an illness ahead of Week 13’s game, but he returned to the sideline in the middle of the second quarter after being evaluated at a nearby hospital and was present for work on Monday.

In relation to what might be a developing mini-quarterback controversy, Coach spoke about both Jalen Hurts and Gardner Minshew, complimenting Gardner on the job he did versus the Jets in Hurts’ absence but also confirming that the starting job belongs to Hurts when he’s ready to go.

There you have it. That settles that.