Eagles downgrade ailing Jalen Hurts to questionable for Monday’s game

Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts was downgraded to questionable for Monday night’s game against the Seattle Seahawks because of an illness.

Hurts has separate travel arrangements from the team for the road game in an effort to avoid getting other players sick. The 25-year-old missed the team’s final practice on Saturday with the illness, but the initial indication was that his absence was precautionary.

As long as his condition doesn’t worsen, there’s still optimism that Hurts will be able to play but at less than 100%, according to league sources. There’s no telling on how Hurts’ illness will progress leading up to kickoff, though, making his status harder to determine.

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Hurts has started all 13 games of the Eagles season and has 3,192 passing yards, 460 rushing yards, and 31 total touchdowns. The Eagles head to Seattle hoping to break a two-game losing streak with major playoff implications the rest of the way. A win would clinch a playoff berth and keep them in control of their own destiny in the race for the NFC East.

It isn’t the first time Hurts has dealt with an illness in the lead-up to a game. He dealt with flulike symptoms earlier this season in the Eagles’ Week 3 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and was under the weather during the team’s midseason loss to the Washington Commanders last year. He finished the road game against the Bucs 23-for-37 for 277 yards, accounting for two touchdowns and throwing two interceptions.

If Hurts is unable to go, the Eagles will turn to backup quarterback Marcus Mariota. The nine-year veteran came in for Hurts for a brief stretch late in the Eagles’ 42-19 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Dec. 3 while Hurts was evaluated for a concussion. Mariota went 2-for-3 for 16 yards in his five plays. Mariota, 30, has 74 career starts including 13 last year with the Atlanta Falcons.

After Saturday’s practice, Mariota huddled in the locker room with several Eagles skill players, including A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, and Dallas Goedert, to go over a few details from the session.

Rookie quarterback Tanner McKee is the only other quarterback on the roster and would be called into No. 2 duty if Hurts were unable to play.

The Seahawks are also dealing with uncertainty at quarterback. Veteran starter Geno Smith is questionable going into Monday’s game with a groin injury that held him out of Seattle’s 28-16 loss to the 49ers last Sunday. If Smith is ruled out, the Seahawks will once again turn to backup quarterback Drew Lock, a 27-year-old out of Missouri with 22 career starts.

Aside from Hurts, the Eagles will be without a few other key starters for the prime-time matchup in Seattle. Cornerback Darius Slay, right guard Cam Jurgens, and linebacker Zach Cunningham were each ruled out on Saturday after missing practice all week.

Slay, 32, had arthroscopic knee surgery last week but is not expected to go on injured reserve. The Eagles had several options to replace Slay but are expected to start rookie Kelee Ringo in his place, according to a league source. The fourth-round pick out of Georgia spent the first 12 games of the season almost exclusively on special teams, but he got some playing time in dime packages against the Dallas Cowboys last week.

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The 21-year-old ran a 4.36-second 40-yard dash at the NFL scouting combine and was considered a high-upside prospect because of his athleticism, although his ability to change direction in coverage was a question mark. In claiming the backup outside cornerback job, Ringo overtook second-year corner Josh Jobe and undrafted rookie Eli Ricks, each of whom spent time this season as the No. 3 corner behind Slay and James Bradberry.

Reserve lineman Sua Opeta is expected to start in place of Jurgens, who suffered a pectoral injury against the Cowboys last week. Opeta started four games earlier this season after Jurgens landed on injured reserve with a foot injury.

In Cunningham’s spot, veteran linebacker Shaquille Leonard is expected to make his first start since signing with the Eagles two weeks ago. Leonard, 28, made his Eagles debut against the Cowboys and played 14 snaps.

Staff writer Jeff McLane contributed to this article.

The Eagles will visit the Seattle Seahawks in a Monday Night Football showdown. Join Eagles beat reporters Olivia Reiner and EJ Smith as they dissect the hottest storylines surrounding the team on Gameday Central, live from Lumen Field in Seattle.