Report: Jalen Hurts experienced flu-like symptoms ahead of Buccaneers matchup

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts is playing Monday Night Football’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers while dealing with flu-like symptoms, according to Adam Schefter.

If not for the report, Hurts’ performance would indicate that he’s in perfect health. Right before halftime, the former Alabama and Oklahoma alum heaved a 34-yard touchdown pass to Olamide Zaccheaus while getting tackled.

He has contributed to over 200 of the Eagles’ 303 total offensive yards as of this report. Under his guidance, Philadelphia looks to grow its lead even further in the second half.

The Eagles are cruising through the early portion of their 2023 season and will likely be undefeated through three games after they finish taking care of business against the Bucs. Still, not everything has been sunshine and rainbows in Philadelphia.

During the 34-28 Week 2 victory over the Minnesota Vikings, receiver AJ Brown and Hurts had an animated conversation on the sideline. Head coach Nick Sirianni came between the two in an attempt to prevent any further escalation, and Brown himself downplayed the incident when asked about it earlier in the week. 

“The sideline discussion, I want you all to know that’s what it was, a discussion,” Brown said, via Martin Frank of the Delaware News Journal. “It’s a game that we both love and I want everybody to understand that sometimes emotions are high and that’s kind of what happened. That doesn’t mean it’s the end of the world. That doesn’t mean I’m beefing with Jalen.”

Brown ended up being Hurts’ most targeted receiver on the night and led the team in receiving yards with 102 at the end of three quarters. There was never any beef — just two passionate star players that saw their emotions get the better of them during the heat of the moment.

“It was not about targets,” Brown said. “I’m sure everybody thought that because he threw me the ball three times in a row afterwards. But no, I was not over there discussing targets. It was about something that happened earlier and we were having a discussion about it.

Hurts cleared the air earlier this week as well.

“Y’all talked about it and made it a big deal when it wasn’t,” Hurts said. “That’s always going to be my guy. We’re all great competitors and we all want to help the team win. Nothing’s going to change with that and he’s going to continue to put his best foot forward to help the team.”