The Eagles’ opponents will not be at full strength when they take the field tomorrow, but Philadelphia is in line to have their starting quarterback available. Jalen Hurts is expected to start in the regular season finale, per Mike Garafolo of NFL Network.

[RELATED: Giants To Rest Daniel Jones, Other Starters In Week 18]

Hurts has been out since Week 15 with a shoulder sprain, leaving the Eagles with Gardner Minshew as their top option at the position. The veteran has put up noticeable yardage totals during his two starts filling in for Hurts, but he took six sacks during last week’s loss to the Saints and has thrown as many interceptions (three) as touchdowns this year. Philadelphia has lost two straight, thus failing to clinch the top seed in the NFC along the way.

The Eagles will be heavily favored to guarantee themselves a first-round bye with a win on Sunday, however, with Hurts back in the fold and the Giants being locked into the No. 6 spot, leaving them with no need to play their first-stringers. Philadelphia will also have safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson and defensive end Robert Quinn available after they were activated from IR earlier today, providing a boost to their defense.

Hurts was quickly reported to be in danger of missing multiple games as a result of the injury, but he made a push to return in time for last week’s contest against New Orleans. The fact that tomorrow’s game still carries seeding implications partially explains his presumed availability, of course, but the 24-year-old would have faced a month-long absence in the (likely) event the Eagles still wound up with the No. 1 seed and its associated bye week after another game with Minshew at the helm.

Notably, Garafolo adds that the Eagles plan to start Hurts with the hope of building a significant lead early on. That will allow him to get some game action in the lead-in to the postseason, while also allowing Philadelphia to replace him with Minshew after the result is no longer in doubt. Should that scenario not play out, though, they are confident in Hurts’ status with respect to his recovery and low risk of re-injury.

The former second-rounder put himself squarely in the MVP conversation prior to getting hurt, totaling 3,472 passing yards and a 22:5 touchdown-to-interception ratio. His improvement in the passing game has been coupled with an additional 747 yards and 13 scores on the ground, making him one of the league’s top dual-threat QBs and the focal point of the team’s offense. Should he return to full health in time for the postseason, the Eagles will be well-positioned for a deep playoff run.

Jalen Hurts‘ shoulder injury will lead to the MVP candidate missing at least one game. Nick Sirianni said Thursday the plan is for the Eagles to start backup Gardner Minshew against the Cowboys.

The former Jaguars starter whom the Eagles acquired via trade last year, Minshew has made two starts with Philadelphia. Sirianni’s decision will wrap a regular season that will have featured two Cowboys-Eagles games involving backup quarterbacks. Cooper Rush faced Hurts in October, as Dak Prescott rehabbed his thumb injury.

While the Eagles are going week to week with Hurts, it is possible he either misses multiple games or does not return until the playoffs. During a Week 15 game in which Hurts matched his season-high with 17 carries, he suffered a shoulder sprain in the third quarter. Hurts finished the game, and it is believed he could play through this were Philly’s Christmas Eve Dallas rematch a must-win game. But the Eagles hold a three-game lead on the Cowboys in the NFC East and are essentially three up in the home-field advantage race, thanks to an early-season win over the 11-3 Vikings, so Hurts-related caution can take place.

This will become a pivotal game for Minshew, who is on track for free agency in March. The former Jags sixth-round pick has been a quality backup with the Eagles, after flashing frequently on struggling Jacksonville teams during his first two seasons. Although Urban Meyer continued to give Minshew first-team reps for much of the 2021 offseason, Trevor Lawrence‘s expected ascent coming to pass led to a Minshew trade. The Eagles acquired the Washington State product for a conditional draft choice last year. It became a sixth-rounder after Minshew did not play at least 50% of Philly’s offensive snaps in three games last season.

Minshew, 26, did clear the 50% barrier in two games last season — both starts. He filled in for Hurts, who was battling an ankle injury, against the Jets and started with a cast of Eagles backups against the Cowboys in Week 18. When playing with Philly starters in New Jersey, Minshew completed 20 of 25 passes for 242 yards and two touchdowns. That win helped an Eagles team that was not viewed especially highly entering last season into the playoffs.

After replacing an injured Nick Foles as a rookie in 2019, Minshew took over the Jags job for good later that season. In 14 games (12 starts) in 2019, the former Mike Leach pupil surprised most by throwing 21 touchdown passes compared to six interceptions. QBR rated Minshew in the bottom five that year, however, and the Jags went 1-7 in his 2020 starts en route to securing the following year’s No. 1 overall pick.

A multigame audition this season, backed by a well-built Eagles roster, could put Minshew on the radar to be a potential bridge option or at least up his value as a backup on the market. The Eagles host the Saints and Giants to close the season.

The Eagles are the 15th team since the 1970 merger to start 13-1. Their September win over the Vikings currently gives them a three-game lead in the NFC’s home-field advantage race. This would allow for caution regarding injured players, and Jalen Hurts‘ status has now come up on this front.

This season’s MVP frontrunner suffered a shoulder sprain during the Eagles’ win over the Bears on Sunday, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, Tom Pelissero and Mike Garafolo (via Twitter). This is not considered to be an injury that threatens Hurts’ playoff status, but the Eagles are preparing for the possibility Gardner Minshew starts against the Cowboys in Week 16 (Twitter link).

A Hurts return might take a bit longer, given the circumstances. The injury is to Hurts’ throwing shoulder, and with the team wanting him at full strength when he comes back, the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane adds the third-year quarterback faces the prospect of missing Philadelphia’s next two games or being shut down until the playoffs. Were the Eagles to sit the MVP until the postseason, it would likely give him more than a month of recovery time. The divisional round begins Jan. 21.

Hurts suffered the injury on a third-quarter hit from Bears defensive end Trevis Gipson, who tackled the third-year passer on one of his 17 carries — which matched a season-high mark — in Week 15. While Hurts has made considerable strides as a passer this season, his rushing ability is a major part of Philly’s offense. The former second-round pick has amassed 747 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns, three of those coming against the Bears on Sunday. Hurts, however, has either been hit or tackled 184 times this season, per ESPN, with that total ranking behind only Justin Fields and Daniel Jones.

Minshew started one game in relief of Hurts last season, filling in after Hurts suffered an ankle injury. The former Jaguars draftee should be viewed as likely to make another start Saturday, McLane adds. Hurts, who was not quite as effective after returning from that injury last year, underwent ankle surgery this offseason. He has removed previous doubt about an ability to be a high-end starting quarterback, and the Eagles have a recent history of securing a No. 1 seed without their starting quarterback. Nick Foles replaced Carson Wentz to land the NFC’s top seed five years ago. Wentz was on the cusp of MVP acclaim when he went down with an ACL tear, but Foles ended up lifting the team to a Super Bowl title. It does not appear the Eagles will need to consider Minshew for the playoffs, however, representing obvious good news for the league’s only team with fewer than three losses.

The Eagles host the Saints in Week 17, and the Giants will visit Philly to close out the regular season. Minshew went 20 of 25 for 242 yards and two touchdowns in his start against the Jets last season. He also started in Week 18 against the Cowboys, as the Eagles rested starters. After Dallas was forced to start Cooper Rush in its early-season matchup in Philadelphia, it is looking like this high-profile rivalry will not involve a Hurts-Dak Prescott duel this time around either.

Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts suffered an ankle injury in his team’s Week 12 loss to the Giants. While Hurts expressed a desire to play through the injury, Philadelphia will be safe with its QB1 and let him rest for this week’s contest against the Jets. Former Jaguars quarterback Gardner Minshew will start in Hurts’ place.

Minshew has only seen the field in one game this season, completing two passes for 11 yards in a blowout win against the Lions. This will be his first start since he suited up for Jacksonville in a Week 15 loss to the Ravens last year.

This is bad timing for Hurts. Just last week, in the wake of a stretch of solid play, it was reported that the second-year pro might have done enough to entrench himself as the Eagles’ starting QB moving forward, thereby allowing the club to use its considerable draft capital to build around him. Unfortunately, Hurts had a miserable showing in the Giants loss, throwing three interceptions and renewing the chatter about whether he truly is a franchise passer, chatter that was highlighted by a report concerning an organizational divide on his long-term viability.

Obviously, one bad game isn’t going to make or break Hurts’ future, but he certainly would have preferred to have a chance to bounce back against a porous Jets secondary. Instead, Minshew — who at one time looked like he might be the Jags’ long-term solution under center — will get a chance to reestablish his value.

A 2019 sixth-round selection, Minshew’s strong performance and charismatic personality made him something of a sensation in his rookie season. Filling in for an injured Nick Foles, Minshew ended up starting 12 of his 14 games for Jacksonville, completing 60.6% of his passes for 3,271 yards, 21 touchdowns, and only six interceptions. He also guided the Jaguars to a 6-6 record during his 12 starts.

The Jaguars took a clear step back in 2020, but Minshew still put up solid numbers. While Jacksonville went only 1-7 in Minshew’s eight starts, the Washington State product still completed 66.1% of his passes for 2,259 yards, 16 touchdowns, and only five interceptions. He’s also shown some versatility outside of the passing game, collecting 497 rushing yards on 96 career carries.

After the Jags selected Trevor Lawrence with the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft, Minshew became expendable, and he was shipped to Philadelphia — which is always on the lookout for QB talent — in exchange for a conditional sixth-rounder in August. He still has a year to go on his rookie contract, and he will welcome any opportunity to continue to produce quality tape.

Ely Allen contributed to this post.