Three Observations About The Jalen Hurts Blood Clot Situation: Bama in the NFL Week 7

1. Bama in the NFL Player of the Week
2. Bama in the NFL Statistical Leaders
3. Bama in the NFL Week 7 Tracker
4. Bama in the NFL Game of the Week
5. Bama in the NFL Key Matchup
6. Bama in the NFL Trivia Question of the Week
7. How to Watch: Bama in the NFL Week 7
8. Bama In the NFL Week 7 Notes
9. Bama in the NFL Trivia Answer
10. The Ultimate Bama in the NFL Database

It’s clear that the Philadelphia Eagles could have handled the Jalen Hurts medical situation better this past week, especially from a public-relations standpoint, as there were obviously numerous red flags raised after he was diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis and bilateral pulmonary embolisms surrounding the team’s trip to London.

Hurts is expected to miss the rest of the season after the Eagles let him play against the Jaguars three days after suffering a calf injury from a cleat during practice, and diagnosed by a specialist in London when the blood clot in his left leg traveled to his lungs.

It’s about as scary of a medical situation as one can image for an athlete, especially when factoring in the air travel as nearly everyone knows that flying with an active or recent blood clot can be extremely dangerous requiring strict medical attention and clearance.

But blood clots are a bit like knee injuries, they can be tricky.  Numerous factors can come into play, and it’s not always a case of A+B equals C. Should he have been allowed to play? It’s easy for a someone without a medical degree to try to answer that, while the experts seem to be saying it depends on the circumstances.   

Granted, the NFL’s history with concussions, a completely different issue but also frightening, isn’t good, so people don't want to give it the benefit of doubt. But here are three observations that can be made from afar.

• The league deals with blood clots more often than fans realize

Sometimes it doesn’t come to light due to privacy issues or is simply overlooked. Of course, 99 percent of the time the player involved isn’t a Super Bowl-winning quarterback.

“I think there was incredible vigilance, there was conservative care, state-of-the-art imaging that was done in London,” the NFL's chief medical officer, Dr. Allen Sills, told reporters at the league's annual fall meeting. “And, as far as the timing and the decision-making, I have great confidence in that and believe that everyone acted with an abundance of caution.”

• The agent and the union

If something wasn’t right or handled correctly, one has to think that Hurts and his agent Nicole Lynn would be anything but silent. Is the situation concerning and alarming? Absolutely. The players’ union has called for a full investigation, as it should have, and the league needs to be as transparent as possible. It can't mess this one up, especially when it's playing more and more games internationally.

"The NFLPA is not aware of any NFL investigation into the medical care provided to Jalen Hurts. 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."

• Hurts himself

As someone who covered Hurts in college, I can tell you that he’s someone who has a firm grasp on the big picture, and always has. Yes, as the son of a coach, and I’m sure he sat there in London and said “I want to play.” But Hurts has endured extreme setbacks before and knows how to handle them.

One of the most impressive things I’ve ever seen in covering sports was the way that Hurts dealt with the situation when Tua Tagovailoa was handed the starting job. He simply kept working. Reporters went weeks without really seeing him (except garbage time in games) or having access, but when we finally did get a look at him up close the zip on his throws was stronger. His reads were better. Instead of feeling sorry for himself or sulking Hurts had used the opportunity to become a better quarterback.

We all remember what happened when Tagovailoa got hurt, Hurts more than stepped up.

If anyone can come back stronger from all this, it’s him.  

Bama in the NFL Player of the Week

Bryce Young didn’t have his best game statistically, but he also didn’t have any major gaffes either while leading the Panthers past the Eagles, 25-14. He was 20 of 39 for 281 yards and two touchdowns to tight end Tommy Tremble. At 3-2, Carolina is in the driver’s seat in the NFC South, where no one else is better than 2-4.

Bama in the NFL Week 7 Tracker

For the full set of statistics on how the former Crimson Tide players did this week, check out our elaborate Bama in the NFL Week 7 Tracker. It will be updated throughout the weekend until every game is concluded:

Bama in the NFL Game of the Week

Green Bay (4-2) at Detroit (3-2) is a huge NFC North game as neither can afford to fall further behind 5-0 Minnesota, which hosts Indianapolis. The two teams are also slated to meet in Green Bay in Week 18 when playoff spots will be on the line. Green Bay has won three straight and it’s obvious how it’ll attack Detroit wide receivers Christian Watson (538 receiving yards) and Matthew Golden (501) are the first set of teammates each with at least 500 receiving yards in their team’s first six games of a season since 2022 (Miami’s Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle). Ther rank fifth and sixth, respectively, in receiving yards this season.

Bama in the NFL Key Matchup

We think Josh Jacobs is going to play, but don’t know for sure as the Packers are being kind of tight-lipped about how they plan to use him after missing the first six games following an off-the-field incident. If interested, check out Green Bay Packers On SI for everything he said to the media this week. Otherwise, this could be a high matchup of Crimson Tide running backs. Detroit running back Jahmyr Gibbs leads the NFL with nine scrimmage touchdowns (seven rushing, two receiving) and ranks third with 747 scrimmage yards (504 rushing, 243 receiving) this season. Interestingly, the key to the game could be another player returning this week, safety Brian Branch (Achilles) for the Lions.

Bama in the NFL Trivia Question of the Week

Julio Jones holds the record for the most receiving yards in a player’s first 100 career games in NFL history, with 9,618. Who previously held the record, and which active player is the closest?

See below for answer

Bama In the NFL Week 7 Notes

• Derrick Henry is up to 4,050 career rushing yards with the Ravens, making him just the fourth running back all-time to top the 4,000-yard mark with more than one team. He had 9,502 rushing yards with the Titans. The others are Eric Dickerson (Indianapolis and the Los Angeles Rams), Marshall Faulk (Indianapolis and the St. Louis Rams) and Warrick Dunn (Atlanta and Tampa Bay). Henry recently surpassed Dickerson on the all-time rushing list at 13,259 yards and is ninth on the leaderboard. Dickerson is 10th, with Faulk 13th and Dunn 24th. However, Faulk is fifth in yards per scrimmage at 19,154, while Henry is 18th at 15,417, just ahead of Dickerson (15,396).

• Both defensive lineman Jonathan Allen and safety Jordan Battle are coming off both a bye week and having a big game for the Bengals, a 31-24 victory at Miami in Week 5. Allen had a sack, forced fumble, fumble recovery and a pass defended, while Battle notched seven tackles and two interceptions. The last time Battle faced the Ravens he had eight tackles, including one for a loss, and an interception.

• Dallas Turner has an interesting streak of four straight home games with a forced fumble with the Vikings. He’s also had four straight games, home and road, with a sack. His 5.5 sacks this season in third in the league, two behind Will Anderson Jr.

• Keep an eye on the trading deadline of Nov. 10, at 4 p.m. ET. There’s been a lot of talk about wide receiver Jerry Jeudy being available in Cleveland, where he’s been more of a clutch option than every-down contributor. Head coach Todd Monken told reporters: “We’re better with Jerry Jeudy than we are without Jerry, and I think we’re doing a better job of getting him involved and trying to find the places where we can use Jerry. And it hasn’t been easy, as I said before. But he’s handled it well the last few weeks, and you can see it with the confidence playing, the juice he has. And that’s the biggest thing, from practice to the games, carrying that over.”

• Germie Bernard was targeted 12 times and had 11 receptions for the Steelers last week in the 26-19 overtime-win against the Buccaneers. He’s been targeted 21 times for 17 receptions over the last two games.

Bama in the NFL Trivia Answer

Jones took the record for most receiving yards in his first 100 NFL games away from Lance Alworth, who had 9,019 yards to start his career with the San Diego Chargers. Among active players, former LSU wide receiver Justin Jefferson leads the NFL with 8,738 receiving yards in 98 games with the Vikings.

The Ultimate Bama in the NFL Database

•  The database includes the complete breakdown of every former Crimson Tide player in the NFL’s contract information and status, including teams, positions, jersey numbers and draft information.

• Can’t remember what team a player is on this season? Our listing of active Alabama players in the NFL is by team, status designation and position.

• Check out the unque All-Time Crimson Tide Players in the NFL and each Alabama draft selection by year, team and position, along with AFL, expansion and supplemental picks. Plus every Crimson Tide player who has participated in a Super Bowl, those who were on a Super Bowl roster, and Alabama’s impressive collection of Super Bowl MVPs.

• A thorough look at where Alabama was considered Position U during the Nick Saban era, both on offense and defense, and how his former Crimson Tide players are closing in on $4 billion made in the NFL.

• The Crimson Tide's influence on the NFL has been immense. A full listing of Alabama's All-Pros and impact on every franchise. Also, check out Alabama's history on the annual NFL Top 100 list as voted by the players.

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