PHILADELPHIA − If you were looking for Eagles coach Nick Sirianni to declare quarterback Jalen Hurts ready for the playoffs, well, Sirianni brushed that aside like the Eagles did to the New York Giants on Sunday to close out the regular season.

So the Jalen Hurts Concussion Watch will likely continue until at least Wednesday, when the Eagles begin practicing for their Wild Card playoff game against the Green Bay Packers this Sunday at 4:30 p.m. at Lincoln Financial Field.

And if Hurts isn’t practicing by then, could Tanner McKee, with 6 quarters of NFL experience, be the one starting against Green Bay, or at least a heartbeat away?

For now, Sirianni said after the Eagles beat the New York Giants 20-13 to close out a 14-3 regular season that Hurts is “progressing through the protocol.”

It was the same thing Sirianni said last Friday, but with one addendum: he confirmed that Hurts attended the Eagles walkthrough Saturday, a sign that Hurts is in fact progressing.

The NFL concussion protocol consists of five steps, with attending meetings and practicing as part of that process. Hurts has not taken part in a practice since leaving the Dec. 22 game against the Commanders in the first quarter.

Hurts has missed two straight games. The final step to playing is getting cleared by an independent neurologist.

“Same as what we talked about (Friday),” Sirianni said when asked if there’s an update on Hurts’ concussion.

Then Sirianni became a bit agitated at follow up questions, which included Hurts’ presence at Saturday’s walkthrough, and if that is considered progress:

“Guys, he’s progressing through the protocol,” Sirianni said. “We’ve talked a lot about that. I respect your questions. I’m trying to answer them all. Yeah, he’s progressing through the protocol.”

But there’s another possible development that could change how the Eagles perceive their depth behind Hurts at quarterback, both for the playoffs and in the 2025 season.

And that has everything to do with McKee, who completed 27 of 41 passes for 269 yards and 2 touchdowns. It was McKee’s first career start, and it came one week after McKee got into his first NFL game when backup Kenny Pickett left with a rib injury.

McKee, the Eagles’ sixth-round pick in 2023, completed 3 of 4 passes for 54 yards and 2 TDs to finish out the 41-7 win over Dallas on Dec. 29. In all, McKee has completed 66.7% of his passes with 4 touchdowns, 0 interceptions and a 117.2 passer rating.

“I’ll be ready whether I’m the one, the two, the three, the six, whatever it is,” McKee said. “It’s just doing my own thing.”

Pickett, by comparison, has played a similar amount as McKee. Pickett is 25-for-42 (59.5%) for 291 yards with 2 TDs, 1 INT and a passer rating of 86.5.

Sure, it’s a small sample size, but McKee has certainly made an impression on Sirianni and his teammates.

“You see Tanner McKee just throwing dimes all over the field?” said Eagles center Cam Jurgens, who was among several starters to sit out Sunday. “It’s fun to watch. We get to see him dice up our scout team. It’s just fun watching him go out there and make plays.”

Added Sirianni: “I thought he was in complete control of the game. Making good decisions. I felt like he got to his check down a couple times, that was really impressive … He strung together a couple good quarters last game, and then a full good game today.

“Every time he gets an opportunity in practice, he does a really good job. We’re excited about Tanner and the player he is.”

And if that’s the case, perhaps the Eagles look into trading Pickett in the offseason. After all, Pickett had started 24 games in his two previous seasons with the Steelers, who made Pickett their first-round draft pick in 2022 (No. 20 overall).

Pickett will enter the final season of his rookie contract next season, while McKee is signed through 2026. If the Eagles believe McKee has progressed enough to be a backup, then he’ll be cheaper on the salary cap and under team control for longer.

But that’s the thing about backup quarterbacks: They’re only one snap away from being the starter. And that could be especially true depending on Hurts’ concussion and Pickett’s ribs.

At the very least, by playing these past 1 1/2 games, McKee showed that he could be a viable option as a backup QB, both in the playoffs and beyond.

“It’s huge,” McKee said about getting game experience. “Just seeing how fast the game is, seeing the different looks that people are going to give you, different checks. You can do a lot of walkthroughs and a lot of practice, but there is a little bit of difference in the game, the adrenaline and what’s on the line and things like that.

“So, it is nice to kind of have that under my belt. And I think ultimately, for me, it just builds confidence, which is great.”