The Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots preseason game had a lot of anticipation. Heisman Trophy winner and first-round pick DeVonta Smith was set to make his NFL debut against former teammate Mac Jones, who is battling out Cam Newton for the Patriots starters quarterback job.

But, according to Ari Meirov, Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts is out with an illness.

That leaves NFL veteran Joe Flacco starting the game for the Eagles, and thankfully this is a preseason battle. Jones, Smith, and Hurts all played together at Alabama and were looking forward to a little friendly competition on Thursday night.

On the Patriots side of things, Mac Jones and Cam Newton are battling for the starting quarterback job, and both have been going back and forth. Jones should see plenty of run on Thursday night as he tries his best to earn the gig for Week 1 and get the approval of Bill Belichick.

Nobody has any idea what exactly the illness is for Hurts, but more details will be provided when they are released. However, Hurts' illness is apparently not related to COVID-19.

For now, the pairing of DeVonta Smith and Jalen Hurts– and the Crimson Tide reunion– will be put on hold, and hopefully Hurts can return for the Eagles preseason finale.