Jalen Hurts' Blood Clot Care Raises NFL Safety Questions

Segment Spotlight: Quick Hits From Outspoken With Dan Sileo

Questions Mount Over Jalen Hurts’ Medical Care

A major sidebar to the Eagles-Cowboys game involves Jalen Hurts’ medical care and the response from the NFL and NFL Players Association. Within 24 hours, the NFL cleared itself without even having a conversation with the NFLPA about the handling of Hurts’ blood clot.

There are several questions that need answers. Why did the medical staff wait until Hurts landed in Philadelphia to perform an ultrasound? After discovering the blood clot, why was he placed on an airplane and flown back instead of receiving the necessary medical care overseas?

There are also questions about what happened after the team returned. Why wasn’t an immediate ultrasound performed when Hurts got off the airplane on Monday? Why did he practice Monday and again Wednesday?

Nick Sirianni said last week that he loves Hurts like a brother. But if Hurts were his son and he learned in London that he had a blood clot, would he have played him, or would he have held him out of the game?

People at the Philadelphia Inquirer were also asking why Hurts was coming out of games late. Jeff McLane noted that Hurts had been napping in the locker room before returning. Hurts said he was getting rest.

How can the NFL and the Eagles say they acted in the player’s best interest when so many questions remain about his medical care? I do not trust the NFL, and I believe the NFLPA, of which I remain a member as a retired player, is completely incompetent. One organization is incompetent, and the other is untrustworthy. These are the organizations representing the players.

Roger Goodell works for the owners, not the players. When players hug him on draft night, I wonder why. I do not believe he cares about their health.

The NFL provides retired players with 10 years of medical coverage, after which they are on their own. By comparison, a Major League Baseball player with three games receives full medical coverage for life. The NFL says it cares about its players’ medical well-being, but I do not believe that is true.

The league also promotes helmets and padded covers as safety measures. Doctor Bennett Omalu described the brain by comparing it to an egg in a glass of water: No matter what kind of helmet a player wears, the brain still moves inside the skull.

There are many unanswered questions about the NFL’s handling of Hurts’ medical care. Those answers matter because this is also about the next player who may need treatment. Unfortunately, players are dealing with an incompetent union and a league that cannot be trusted with their well-being.