Jalen Hurts injury history and updates

When the Philadelphia Eagles drafted Jalen Hurts in 2020, they were aiming to provide a backup to injury-prone Carson Wentz; however, there may be injury concerns with the current Eagles QB1 as well. Philadelphia drafted Jalen Hurts to add a new layer to the two-dimensional Carson Wentz-led offense and give what they thought was their franchise signal-caller a backup.

Coming out of Oklahoma, Hurts had the potential to be drafted in the first round as a runner-up for the Heisman trophy, but despite an excellent senior season at Oklahoma, his poor football vision and limitations as a passer may have caused his draft stock to drop, making his game dependent on his running game.

Despite this, Hurts still was talented enough to warrant a second-round selection by the Eagles, and he ended up replacing Carson Wentz as the Eagles’ starting quarterback. Hurts won one of four starts in his rookie season, and he led Philly to a win-loss record above .500 in his sophomore season. With a young team surrounding him, Hurts has time to grow with the organization and develop his weaker qualities.

Jalen Hurts injury history

One of the biggest obstacles he and any other NFL player may face is the injury bug. Hurts hasn’t been injured a lot in his college and professional career, but when he has, it affected him where most of his game is developed, his legs.

Through his first two seasons in the league, Hurts has thrown for 3792 and 20 touchdowns in 18 games. He also rushed for 1087 yards and 13 touchdowns during that span.

Jalen Hurts ankle injury, 2018

Jalen Hurts’ legs, including his ankles, are put under a lot of stress during games, as he has a different skillset from the average quarterback. Hurts was second in the Heisman Trophy race in his senior season at Oklahoma, losing to Joe Burrow of LSU.

He was only put in certain packages at the time he was injured, playing backup to Tua Tagovailoa. Hurts came in the game and scored a rushing touchdown against the Tennessee Volunteers, but injured himself with a high ankle sprain in the process. He stayed in the game, however, and got a minor procedure after to help heal the sprain.

Hurts ended up missing two games while recovering, giving a chance for the third-string Mac Jones to take some snaps. In his return vs. Citadel, Hurts put up 31 yards and a touchdown while sitting behind Tagovailoa on the depth chart. Alabama won vs. Citadel 50-17.

Jalen Hurts ankle injury, 2021

Hurts was having an up-and-down season in 2021 before he got injured. The Philadelphia Eagles were 5-6, and after a Week 12 loss to the New York Giants, Hurts was reported to be shaken up but finished the game anyway. He ended up with a Grade 1 high ankle sprain but was optimistic about returning in Week 13 versus the Jets. Here’s what head coach Nick Sirianni said at the beginning of December on the subject.

"He’s as tough as they get. Obviously, you want that out of your quarterback, so, yeah, I mean, in my mind, he’s playing, right? Again, like I said, we’re hopeful. I think, in his and my mind, we’re both saying, ‘Yeah, he’s going’."

Hurts ended up sitting out that game, but returned after the team’s Week 14 bye, missing only one game due to the injury. Hurts threw for 296 yards, a touchdown, and an interception, and rushed for 38 yards and two touchdowns on eight attempts in his return versus Washington.