Aaron Rodgers has questioned the NFL's handling of Jalen Hurts' medical situation, saying his own history with the league's chief medical officer, Dr. Allen Sills, leaves him unsurprised by the controversy surrounding the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback.
Hurts has been diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis and blood clots in both lungs, a serious development that has raised questions about how he was cleared to play against the Jacksonville Jaguars in London.
Jalen Hurts calls out team for not being committed enough
And the 42-year-old Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback expressed concern for his fellow quarterback whilst simultaneously acknowledging that he did not know all the details of the situation.
“I don’t have a close relationship with Jalen,” Rodgers said. “Obviously, we’re in the quarterback fraternity, so you don’t want to see anything like that happen to anybody. Especially a guy who’s still in football.
“Obviously, I don’t know all the details about what’s going on. All I’ve seen is what’s been printed. Allen Sills, he’s the guy in charge of all things medical at the NFL office. And he and I haven’t always seen eye-to-eye about things. So, I can’t say I’m real surprised.”
The veteran's remarks come amid growing scrutiny of the Eagles' medical decisions as Hurts was reportedly diagnosed with a superficial blood clot in his left calf shortly before the October 11 game against the Jaguars.
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen HurtsLAPRESSE
However, he was controversially cleared to play and finished with 222 passing yards and a touchdown in Philadelphia's 19-17 defeat in the United Kingdom as reports subsequently claimed Hurts had been instructed to remain awake overnight and had gone roughly 36 hours without sleep before taking the field.
But the NFL disputed that account, describing it as misinformation and clarifying that the team had encouraged personnel to remain awake during the journey home from London to maintain their usual routines.
“That was not true and no one told him not to sleep because of his situation,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said. “The club told all players, coaches and personnel to try to stay awake as long as they could on Saturday as the team was returning back home after the game in London.
“The team did not have a bye week and like other NFL teams that travel to London and back, they were trying maintain as much of a normal routine as possible.”
Hurts' diagnosis raises serious medical questions
Further examinations reportedly revealed that the clots had progressed as Hurts was ruled out for the following game, placed on injured reserve and subsequently ruled out for the remainder of the season, according to reports.
Deep vein thrombosis occurs when a clot forms in a deep vein, commonly in the leg. A pulmonary embolism develops when a clot travels to the lungs, potentially becoming life-threatening.
And Hurts' representatives and the Eagles have said his prognosis is very good and that they anticipate a full recovery, with treatment involving blood thinners as the NFL Players Association has called for a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding the quarterback's treatment.
However, the league has indicated it does not plan to investigate the medical care Hurts received, whilst Sills has defended the medical staff's handling of the situation, whilst the Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni has also faced questions as pressure mounts.