The Eagles won't know for a few days who will be playing quarterback against the Cowboys, as Jalen Hurts works his way through the NFL's concussion protocol.
Clearly, the team is at a different level with Hurts' ability to draw nagging attention from opposing defenses, as was seen when Kenny Pickett was playing for three-plus quarters in Washington. The Commanders defense was able to stack the box and stuff the run, making Saquon Barkley ineffective in the second half.
Hurts' fate is totally out of the Eagles' hands, as an independent neurologist will have the final say. We wanted to know more about what Hurts was dealing with this week, and what his risk level might be upon his return for future injuries, so we reached out to an expert.
To get a better insight into concussions, we chatted with Dr. James Scott, an orthopedic surgeon with the St. Mary's Orthopedics Group in Langhorne, offered his perspective.
A note before getting started…
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and guest authors and do not reflect any official policy or position of any NFL team or a team's athletic physicians.
What hurdles does Hurts have to play this week?
"One thing is, he's gotta establish he's back to his baseline. These players do a test at the beginning of the season to establish a cognitive baseline for a test that they take after a concussion. [Hurts] can't be exhibiting any symptoms, whatever they might be — whether it's burry vision, memory problems, fogginess, fatigue, headaches — he needs to be over all of these and work through the stages of the concussion protocol, and he needs to be cleared by independent neurologist.
"The severity of the concussion will determine when he's able to do that. Sometimes it will take 5-to-7 days minimum to get through all those things. He's kind of up against the clock a little bit."
Is there any upside for the Eagles exercising extra caution, or is it a binary thing — he's ready or not ready?
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"It's always good to exercise caution, even if it's a mild concussion it does make you more susceptible to getting another concussion in the future, and another head injury could keep him out for a much longer time… yes you want to get him back as soon as possible, but you do need to be a little cautious there. You don't want to necessarily let the games dictate whether the player plays or not. I would not be surprised if they exercised extra caution to keep him out of the game this week to protect him and have him fully healthy for the real important stretch."
Will playing a week after a concussion at the QB position result in any sort of weakness, sluggishness, etc?
"If he's cleared to return to play, it means he is fully symptom free and has returned to his baseline. With that framework you'd expect he's back to normal."
Hurts appeared to do everything he could to re-enter the game and the NFL stood tough and made him retreat, how important is this in contrast to years past?
"This is really why it's important to have third parties step in… these guys are all playing nicked up with various injuries and they're all used to playing with some kind of discomfort and pain, if he feels 80% he's going back in there. Having someone step in and tap him on the shoulder protect the players from themselves, the NFL does have protocols in addition to players self reporting, the league has a team of video reviewers looking at the plays and players, seeing where he hit his head, were there any issues when he's getting up and if he is showing any neurological symptom, and if so they immediately get pulled from the game."
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