The Philadelphia Eagles have seen their season unravel right in front of their eyes, as they have been dealt several crushing blows in recent weeks. The worst of the bunch, though, involves the status of quarterback Jalen Hurts, as he will miss the rest of the year due to blood clots.
The handling of Hurts’ injury status amid his ongoing battle with blood clots has generated quite a bit of interest across the NFL, as many folks have bashed the Eagles’ handling of the situation. As a result, the NFLPA is launching an investigation into how Philly addresses Hurts’ status, which led to some eye-opening comments from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.
Roger Goodell Addresses NFLPA’s Investigation Into Jalen Hurts Situation
Ahead of the Eagles’ Week 5 clash against the Jacksonville Jaguars, the team’s medical staff discovered a synthetic blood clot in Hurts’ calf. While blood clots can become very scary, a synthetic blood clot is not considered to be as serious as deep vein thrombosis, so it seemed like Hurts had dodged a bullet.
Still, there were serious questions that popped up as a result of this situation. The main question everyone had was, ‘Why was Hurts allowed to play, even if this blood clot situation wasn’t as serious as it could be?’ With more details of the handling of the situation emerging, which included Hurts being told not to sleep after being diagnosed (leading to him being awake for 36 straight hours before the team’s game against Jacksonville), the outrage only grew louder.
With the blood clot spreading to Hurts’ lungs, he was quickly shut down for the rest of the season. The NFL opted not to penalize the Eagles for their handling of the situation, but the NFLPA has different plans. Considering how things unfolded, the players’ association announced that it will investigate the situation, with Goodell saying that he welcomes the extra attention from them on this serious matter.
“We welcome that,” Goodell simply said when asked about the NFLPA’s investigation. “That’s part of our process, that’s fine. Our chief medical officers have been through the protocols that were followed. We welcome that. That’s what they do. They have that right.”
Eagles Begin Plotting Path Forward Without Jalen Hurts
It’s tough to examine how the Eagles handled Hurts’ situation and say they acted in his best interests, especially now that his blood clot issue has become significantly worse. At the end of the day, though, the league has the best possible medical personnel handling these situations, and while the NFLPA is right to take a closer look at this incident, there’s no sense in unjustly accusing them of throwing Hurts into harm’s way without properly doing their job.
On the field, Philly is moving forward with Tanner McKee as its new starting quarterback as it attempts to salvage its season in the wake of Hurts’ season-ending injury. The Eagles will have a little bit of extra time to get themselves ready for Week 7, as they will be back in action on Monday Night Football for a divisional matchup against the Dallas Cowboys.
Roger Goodell Sends Strong Message on Eagles’ Jalen Hurts Injury Situation