The past few days have been a rollercoaster ride for Philadelphia Eagles fans.
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The concerning details around Jalen Hurts’ situation had many up in arms against the team. Especially after it was reported that the QB played through the Jaguars game with the blood clot diagnosis. However, former Eagles linebacker Seth Joyner believes not everyone has got their facts right.
He called Chris “Mad Dog” Russo’s comments for saying the Eagles did a “horrendous job” at handling the situation.
“The worse thing in media today is misinformation!” Joyner wrote on X. “… [Falling] the @Eagles without the clear timeline and all of the facts is journalistic negligence! @TomPelissero has already retracted the 36 hrs no sleep report!”
Here’s what Russo said:
“One thing, if I may, about this whole thing with Hurts, the Eagles did a horrendous job, okay?” he said on First Take. “And I’m going to believe the NFL now that doesn’t have grass fields, that didn’t do anything with CTE until they were forced to, that wants to play an 18th game for the safety of the players when they want to play another game. So the NFL now is saying, well, we didn’t do anything wrong; the Phillies were perfect, the Eagles are great with this. I don’t trust them.”
Hurts being diagnosed with bilateral pulmonary emboli, i.e., clots in both his lungs, is not the more infuriating matter. What has angered fans is how the team handled the issue.
Hurts complained of pain before the Jaguars game. He got an ultrasound after traveling to London, which revealed a superficial clot in his calf. However, he still played the Jaguars game on October 11. Superficial clots pose the risk of traveling in the bloodstream and triggering deep vein thrombosis, a serious condition.
Tom Pelissero, who covers the league for The Ringer, reported that Hurts did not sleep for 36 hours straight. Fans believed that the QB, already dealing with blood clots, also played without a wink of sleep. Pelissero has since clarified that after speaking with Hurts’ agent, the quarterback was able to get some shuteye before the Jaguars game.
However, that does not take away from how dangerous it was for Hurts to be playing. Neither party involved in this controversy believes things were handled wrongly.
Head coach Nick Sirianni also tried to explain how they also relied on medical staff.
“I’m not a medical expert,” Sirianni said. “I lean on our guys in all those situations. I’m a football coach. I lean on our medical folks in every situation. I have full trust and full faith in them. It’s not just me who has major care for our players; it’s them as well. We are all there, and I’m glad to be part of an organization that cares about our guys the way ours do.”
Even NFL chief medical officer Dr. Allen Sills defended the team.
“I have tremendous confidence in the Philadelphia Eagles’ medical staff and all our medical staff,” Sills said.
But it’s not just a one-game deal. Hurts is actually dealing with both DVT and bilateral pulmonary emboli. The latter condition can be life-threatening too, as they force the heart to work harder by blocking vessels. It is best to treat them at the earliest.
Hurts is on blood thinners, though it is unknown for how long the medication will go on. He is restricted from all contact activities until then, but the Eagles said in a statement that Hurts’ prognosis is “very good.”
“Normally what you do is you would treat this with blood thinners for three months and then sort of see what happens,” CBS News chief medical correspondent Dr. Jon LaPook (who is not treating Hurts) said on CBS Mornings. “Now, they’re going to follow him closely. It may be more than that, and then after that, you take them off the blood thinners.”
It is going to be a tough time for Hurts as he navigates this situation. Meanwhile, fans continue to debate whether the Eagles took the right steps to safeguard the QB’s health.