UPDATE: The Eagles officially ruled out Hurts for Sunday, paving the way for Pickett to start.
Former Pittsburgh Steelers QB Kenny Pickett will likely make his first start for the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday with Eagles’ starting QB Jalen Hurts still in concussion protocol. Head coach Nick Sirianni said that it’s going to be “tough” for Hurts to play during his Friday press conference, per Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer, and with Hurts likely being ruled out for Sunday’s game, Pickett would start for the Eagles.
Pickett’s been on the injury report for the Eagles this week with a rib injury, but he was a full participant in practice yesterday and should be good to go for Sunday. The Eagles also signed QB Ian Book to their practice squad, and the team will have Tanner McKee as a backup to Pickett.
Pickett got his first significant playing time for the Eagles in Week 17, replacing the injured Hurts. He went 14-of-24 for 143 yards with a touchdown and an interception as the Eagles fell 36-33 to the Washington Commanders despite five takeaways. Pickett’s first start will come as the Eagles are still alive for the NFC’s No. 1 seed but have an uphill battle at 12-3 and behind the 13-2 Detroit Lions. The Minnesota Vikings are also 13-2 but currently the NFC’s No. 5 seed as they’re behind Detroit in the NFC North. Both teams remain in contention for the top seed in the conference.
Philadelphia is playing a surging Cowboys team that will enter at 7-8 and is coming off a win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Pickett actually came in when the Eagles played the Cowboys in Week 11 with the game out of hand, going 1-of-2 for five yards. The stakes will be a lot higher this week, and the Eagles are hoping Pickett can play better than he did last week and lead them to a win over a division rival late in the season.
A first-round pick by the Steelers in 2022, Pickett started 24 games for the Steelers in ’22 and 2023, throwing for 4,474 yards with 13 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. He was traded to the Eagles this offseason after the Steelers signed QB Russell Wilson, and Pittsburgh acquired QB Justin Fields just one day after trading Pickett. Philadelphia CB Darius Slay credited Pickett’s work on scout team for helping the Eagles beat the Steelers in Week 15, and now he’ll have to get it done in a real game to give the Eagles some momentum heading into the postseason.
