The biggest question for the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 13 is whether QB Jalen Hurts is playing after struggling with an ankle injury. What is the latest on Hurts’ status, how has he performed this year, and what should fantasy football managers do if he is active or inactive?
Update 12/05/2021: Jalen Hurts has been ruled out of the Eagles Week 13 matchup, per Mike Garafolo.
Is Jalen Hurts playing in Week 13 despite an ankle injury?
There is a lot of uncertainty surrounding Hurts’ for Sunday’s game against the New York Jets. Hurts was questionable all week at practice and carries a questionable injury designation into Sunday.
Hurts had expressed confidence that he would play early in the week, but head coach Nick Sirianni sounded less certain on Friday. When asked who would start, Sirianni was non-committal.
“We still got time to make that decision. We still have a little less than 48 hours to let the body heal, see what’s going on a little bit more. It’s an unknown right now.”
The question is whether that was simply a smokescreen from Sirianni. Is Hurts absolutely fine? Does the Eagles head coach want to make the Jets spend time this weekend thinking about what backup QB Gardner Minshew might bring to the offense? There was a report Saturday that Hurts would be out, but Adam Schefter later reported that the Eagles will see how Hurts is feeling on gameday before making a final decision.
The two QBs bring different styles to the table
The difference for the Jets’ coaches in preparing for Hurts and Minshew is not insignificant. Minshew is a pass-first QB. During his career, he has just 497 rushing yards on 96 attempts in 24 games.
In contrast, Hurts is much more of a dual-threat signal-caller. This season alone, Hurts has 122 rush attempts for 695 yards and 8 touchdowns. In his first two years with the Eagles, he has 1,049 rushing yards and 11 rushing touchdowns.
Hurts’ weakness has been when teams have forced him to be a pocket passer. He has had his issues passing the ball this year, completing just 60.1% of his passes for 6.9 yards per attempt. Additionally, he has thrown 8 interceptions to 13 touchdowns.
PFN’s Offensive Value Metric grades players on their value within the offense based on factors within their control, and Hurts has struggled this year. He currently ranks as the 10th-least valuable QB within his system. Therefore, if his ankle limits his ability to make plays running the ball, the Eagles may look to turn the offense over to Minshew.
What should Jalen Hurts’ fantasy managers do in Week 13?
This ankle issue makes it tough to trust Hurts if he is active. We simply do not know how limited he will be. We have seen mobile QBs be hesitant to take off and create plays when they have injuries. This could be the same situation for Hurts. The Eagles QB simply does not provide enough fantasy value with his arm to hold significant value if he cannot use his legs.
If Hurts is inactive Sunday, the obvious option is Minshew. Minshew is better than some other starting QBs this week, but his lack of mobility caps his ceiling. We have not seen a traditional passer in Sirianni’s offense, so it is tough to be sure. However, Minshew’s upside is likely capped as a QB2 for fantasy this week, and the floor is not all that secure either.