PHILADELPHIA — Eagles rookie quarterback Nick Foles has a broken right hand, and coach Andy Reid said Michael Vick will likely start against the New York Giants in Sunday’s season finale.
Reid said Monday that Foles broke his throwing hand in the second quarter of a 27-20 loss to Washington, but returned to the game after X-rays at the stadium were negative.
Vick hasn’t played since suffering a concussion during a loss to the Cowboys on Nov. 11. He was recently cleared to return.
“There’s a pretty good chance Michael will be the starter,” Reid said. “That’s what we’re looking at right now. That’s the direction I’m going as we speak right now.”
The Eagles (4-11) went 1-5 with the 23-year-old Foles as the starter.
“I banged it up a little in the first half,” he said. “It didn’t affect my throwing at all.”
An MRI taken on Monday revealed a hairline fracture, Reid said.
Reid added because it’s a non-displaced fracture, Foles should be 100 percent in about three weeks.
“He was in quite a little bit of pain,” Reid said of Foles, who threw for 345 yards. “I know at one point he was having a tough time squeezing the ball when we went into halftime. He’s a tough kid and never said a word about it. . He pushed himself through and did a good job.”
Foles, a third-round pick out of Arizona, completed 60.8 percent of his passes for an Eagles rookie record 1,699 yards, with six touchdowns and five interceptions in seven games following Vick’s injury.
“It’s frustrating because I’m hard on myself and I want to win, but I’m going to keep working hard, and I know my teammates are, too,” Foles said after Sunday’s loss. “We’re going to keep sticking together. It’s been a tough year.”
With Reid’s status as head coach uncertain, it’s impossible to determine whether Foles will get an opportunity with the Eagles next year. But Reid said he was impressed with what he saw over the past two months from Foles.
“I think he’s a winning quarterback or he’s a quarterback that gives your team an opportunity to win,” Reid said. “I think you’re seeing him in a unique situation where he comes in later in the season. You look at the young quarterbacks who’ve had an opportunity to come up through and they’ve had time here to grow.
“It wasn’t really pretty when they first began and it continued to pick up as they got games under their belts. Nick got thrown in when other teams were working to their peaks. He was thrown in in that situation.
“He has enough skill and ability to play.”
The Eagles were 3-6 in Vick’s nine starts this year. Vick, in his fourth season with Philadelphia, completed 58.5 percent of his passes for 2,165 yards with 11 TDs and nine interceptions before his injury.
Vick was not in uniform Sunday. Veteran Trent Edwards served as Foles’ backup, and he’ll be Vick’s backup against the Giants. Edwards has not thrown a pass this year.
“You’re talking about a pretty good quarterback here that has a lot of experience,” Reid said of Vick. “I think he’ll be excited to be out there and I think he’ll do a good job.”
The Giants go into the game with faint playoff hopes. They need a win over the Eagles and losses by Minnesota, Chicago and Dallas to reach the postseason.
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