Jalen Hurts comes down with illness, misses preseason game against Patriots
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Jalen Hurts was thought to be in line to start the Philadelphia Eagles’ preseason game against the New England Patriots on Thursday. Instead, veteran Joe Flacco received the call.
During the nationally-televised broadcast on NFL Network, the broadcasters first reported that Hurts came down with an illness before the game, leading him to miss the contest. The Eagles would make the announcement through their Twitter account moments after kickoff.
Participation Update: QB Jalen Hurts will not be playing tonight due to an illness.
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) August 19, 2021
Hurts was seen dancing on the field before the game and participating in warmups, so it’s unknown at this time what the nature of the illness was.
? Eagles QB Jalen Hurts will not be playing tonight due to an illness
Hurts looked very good pregame dancing here #Eagles pic.twitter.com/jszLJWnbBF
— Jeff Skversky (@JeffSkversky) August 19, 2021
This was Jalen Hurts during pregame warmups and looked good
Eagles say he came down with an illness. Joe Flacco started pic.twitter.com/qttV7OG2MI
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) August 19, 2021
On the field, the Eagles saw things get off to a rough start as they fumbled the football away on their first drive of the game. The Patriots then scored seconds later to take a 7-0 lead.
The Hurts to DeVonta Smith connection will have to wait at least another week.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
