Jalen Hurts' Return to Practice a Decoy or a Positive Sign?

The Eagles QB threw during individual drills at practice for the first time since injuring his throwing shoulder in a 25-20 win over the Bears on Dec. 18

PHILADELPHIA - Perhaps it was nothing more than a decoy to keep the New Orleans Saints guessing, knowing that reporters in attendance would report it.

Or, maybe it was something more.

Maybe Hurts is trending toward playing on Sunday when the Eagles try to wrap up the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs.

Either way, it was a positive sign when practice opened to reporters at Lincoln Financial Field on Thursday afternoon and Jalen Hurts was going through individual passing drills with fellow quarterback Gardner Minshew and Ian Book.

There are still two more days to see if Hurts ailing throwing shoulder responds to the work he is doing on the field and the treatment he is receiving in probably just about every waking moment.

Hurts didn’t participate in the ball security drills and Minshew took some first-team reps, so it’s likely Hurts will be listed as limited when the injury report comes out later Thursday evening.

Still, it was encouraging for the Eagles to see their MVP candidate back at practice for the first time since the injury happened against the Chicago Bears on Dec. 18.

It’s telling that Hurts did not participate in Wednesday’s walkthrough, which is typically held without any individual drills the likes of what was seen on Thursday.

Walkthroughs are usually when the team runs through the game plan, and if Hurts didn’t participate in that, well, maybe Thursday was all for show and tell with the media cameras rolling.

The Eagles aren't expected to make a quarterback available to be interviewed until Friday afternoon, so an answer won't be known fully until then.

Again, there’s always the other side of that, too - the “or” side. And there’s speculation.

Maybe Hurts will dress as the backup on Sunday, just in case something happens to Minshew during the game or to just keep the Saints off balance.

Maybe Hurts is well enough to play a series or two on Sunday.

Whatever happens, head coach Nick Sirianni made it clear on Wednesday that their star quarterback won’t play until he is fully healthy.

“I'll never (play somebody) and sacrifice the player's health,” he said. “Yes, it's good for the team, but again, never for the player's health.”

He then briefly referenced the Dolphins and their handling of Tua Tagovailoa and the undetected concussion he suffered during Miami's game last week.

“It's very clear that (Miami head coach) Mike McDaniel cares very deeply about Tua's health, and that's cool,” said Sirianni. “That's how we are. 

"It's first about making sure that our players are healthy, and that doesn't happen unless you're connected with your guys because if they were just guys to you, then you’d be like, can he play - when you're connected to them, you deeply care about their health and their well-being.”

Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Fan Nation Eagles Today and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglesmaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.