Star quarterback Jalen Hurts (ankle) may be unavailable for the Eagles' juicy Week 13 matchup against the Jets, which carries major implications for fantasy football.
Jalen Hurts Injury Report
Hurts is dealing with an ankle injury he suffered in the fourth quarter of the team's Week 12 matchup against the Giants. He was downright horrid in the contest and completed 14 of 31 attempts for 129 yards, zero touchdowns, three interceptions and eight carries for 77 yards.
Hurts claims he will be ready to dress come Sunday, but it was revealed on Tuesday that the team is preparing backup Gardner Minshew if their starter cannot play. He participated in a walk through on Wednesday and was limited on Thursday, but the Eagles do have a Week 14 bye, meaning if he were to sit out this game, it would effectively give him two weeks of rest.
Worry-o-meter: 3 out of 5.
Jalen Hurts' Fantasy Outlook
If Active
Hurts remains a top- 12 play, even on the heels of his worst fantasy performance of the year. It hasn't always been pretty, but he has finished as a QB1 for fantasy in all but two games this season and is currently QB6 on a per-game basis. The matchup against the Jets certainly boosts his value this week: Gang Green is allowing an NFL-high 30.4 points per game and 394.9 yards per game — the second-most in the NFL behind Seattle.
Hurts' ceiling may be capped slightly if his mobility isn't 100% come Sunday.
If Inactive
Minshew would get the start against the Jets if the team elects to keep Hurts out of this matchup. The mustachioed signal-caller was traded to the Eagles during the preseason to serve as a backup once again.
Minshew doesn't have the strongest or most accurate arm — though neither does Hurts — so it's difficult to say if he would be a palpable downgrade for the Philly pass catchers. DeVonta Smith, Dallas Goedert, Jalen Reagor and Quez Watkins have suffered from Hurts' inaccuracy and anemic passing attack this season.
With Hurts out the team would likely lean even more on the run game, which has been strong all year. Boston Scott and Miles Sanders could see a boost if Hurts sits, especially given how mobile Minshew is.
As a standalone fantasy asset, Minshew might have some value as a low-end QB2 in light of the positive matchup and could be used in a pinch in two-quarterback/superflex formats.
