As the NFL hopes to turn the page on the Jalen Hurts conversation, thanks to a full day of football starting with yet another pregame-show-killing 9:30 a.m. ET game, there will be further developments that will result in further scrutiny of the situation.
The most immediate development will be the "full investigation" that the NFL Players Association has referenced, but not formally launched.
Consider the precise terms of the statement the NFLPA issued on Tuesday: “The NFLPA is not aware of any NFL investigation into the medical care provided to Jalen Hurts,” the union said. “In fact, the league previously informed the union that it did not plan to review the care he received. Before conclusions are drawn about how this situation was handled, there must be a full investigation into what occurred. Determining the facts is essential to ensuring players receive the highest level of care and protection going forward.”
Although the NFLPA has the power under Article 39, Section 5(f) of the Collective Bargaining Agreement to activate an investigation, a statement reacting to the league's knee-jerk endorsement of the medical care provided to Hurts by pointing out that a "full investigation" is needed before any conclusions can be reached is very different from an official activation of the investigation contemplated by the CBA. There's no current reason to believe there won't be a full investigation, whatever the process. But an investigation hasn't started, at least not yet.
Looming over any investigation conducted or initiated by the NFLPA is the possibility of the ultimate external investigation: Litigation. Although the CBA limits the ability of the player to sue the team and/or the league in court, the doctors are fair game. Three years ago, for example, former Eagles safety Chris Maragos won a $43.5 million verdict in a malpractice case against Dr. James Bradley and Rothman Orthopaedics Associates for surgery to correct a meniscus tear and the ensuing rehab of the injury. (The award was later upheld on appeal.)
More recently, former Browns receiver David Bell has sued Dr. William Meyers and others for core muscle repair that allegedly resulted in a career-ending injury to Bell's femoral artery.
“We undertook a year-long investigation into this matter in which a number of truly world-leading surgeons and radiologists examined the matter, with many of them doing so on a no-fee basis. The findings were nothing short of astonishing and give us a high degree of confidence we can prove that hundreds of millions of dollars going to Dr. Bill Meyers, Dr. Adam Zoga, Jefferson, and the Vincera Institute to perform these surgeries, were prioritized over the basic medical principle of First Do No Harm, as we have alleged in the Complaint,” Bell’s lead attorney, Brad Sohn, said in a press release.
Hurts has a potential lawsuit against the doctors who provided his care, independent of any more limited rights against the Eagles or the league. While it could get complicated — especially if Hurts may have to file a lawsuit in the U.S. and in England — a "superficial" blood clot in his leg resulting from being cleated during the Week 4 game against the Rams became a deep vein thrombosis and blood clots in each lung.
It's fair for Hurts to ask whether the medical care Hurts received caused or contributed to the progression of the situation into something both serious and life-threatening. And the eventual impact of the situation on his career is currently unknown.
The only prudent approach would be to investigate all aspects of the situation from the moment Hurts suffered the initial injury until the point at which the "bilateral pulmonary emboli" were diagnosed. Even if the Eagles and Hurts continue to be on the same page, Hurts can still pursue his rights against the various doctors who may have handled the situation in a way that fell short of the requisite standard of care.
However it plays out, this one is far from over. One way or another, the answers that the Eagles and the league won't provide to the public need to be pursued through one or more investigative processes. And litigation is the best way for Hurts to get any compensation he may be owed for an outcome that may have been fully avoidable.