Jalen Hurts has blood clots in both lungs, and the Philadelphia Eagles are facing questions about how they handled their quarterback’s health crisis. A league source told NFL insider Josina Anderson that the NFL Players Association should be asking some questions of its own.
Anderson posted the source’s texts Monday afternoon, hours after the Eagles and agent Nicole Lynn said in a joint statement that Hurts has deep vein thrombosis and bilateral pulmonary emboli. One text asked where the union stood, and the other laid out what it should do.
A League Source Lays Out What the NFLPA Should Do
According to Anderson, a source has told her what they expect from the union.
“Letters, but should be an announcement coordinated with the chief medical offering guidance to players and agents on what they should know and do, and a consult with the player on injury grievance. At least a letter asking under article 39 about medical care that (reportedly) led to 36 hours of being awake to play and two flights with blood clots.”
Article 39 covers players’ rights to medical care and treatment. Under Section 5, any player, club, the league, or the NFLPA can open an investigation before the Accountability and Care Committee into care provided by club-affiliated personnel.
Two or more neutral physicians are picked within 60 days and report within 60 days of their selection, and the parties must act on their recommendations. The same section says nothing in the article creates a duty for the league or the union regarding a player’s diagnosis or treatment.
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The care in question began with calf symptoms Hurts reported on Oct. 8, according toThe Inquirer. He was diagnosed with a superficial clot at a London hospital on Oct. 10 and reportedly was not allowed to sleep during testing. Lynn later told Tom Pelissero that Hurts was able to sleep at the stadium after rejoining the team following the hospital evaluation. On Oct. 11, he played all of a 19-17 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, going 21 of 40 for 220 yards and a touchdown. Then, he flew home with the clot.
Two outside doctors saw the game and the flight home differently.
The two hematologists The Inquirer contacted, neither with ties to Hurts or the Eagles, said the team generally acted responsibly. “A superficial clot — I don’t think he put himself at any risk by playing,” said Dr. Michael Seidman, a hematology professor at Fox Chase Cancer Center.
Flying with it was not unreasonable either, he said, “as long as you can get up and move around, wear compression gear.”
Neither would weigh in on Hurts playing without much sleep. Seidman said it was hard to comment without knowing what doctors had found.
Hurts worked out twice and practiced once over the next three days. The Eagles said doctors recommended that wait before a follow-up exam, and Seidman called it “completely reasonable.” That exam found the clot had moved.
The NFL confirmed on Oct. 16 that it had pregame communications with the Eagles about the clot. The team put Hurts on injured reserve on Oct. 17, a day before he missed the Week 6 game against the Carolina Panthers.
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Eagles coach Nick Sirianni offered no clarity Monday on the team’s decisions and pointed only to two statements from the team and Lynn. Asked about Hurts playing short on sleep, he said only that players’ health is the team’s top priority.
Anderson’s league source also asked, “Why isn’t any one talking about how quiet the NFLPA is on (Jalen) Hurts?”
Others echoed this source’s sentiment.
New York Times bestselling author Bakari Sellers asked, “Anybody seen @NFLPA statement on Jalen Hurts?”
Yahoo Sports analyst Nate Tice added: “NFLPA gonna chime in on the Hurts situation or”
Hurts is expected to miss the rest of the season, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, who reported that treatment will take at least three months. The joint statement said Hurts is clinically stable, has no significant functional limitations, and won’t take part in football while on blood thinners.
“Jalen’s prognosis is very good, and we expect a full recovery,” the statement read. “We anticipate that he will have the opportunity to resume contact football activities when off the blood thinners.”
The Eagles have lost four straight games and are 2-4, second in the NFC East. They host the Dallas Cowboys on Monday, Oct. 26, at Lincoln Financial Field.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.