News broke Monday morning that Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts would miss the rest of the season after further testing revealed several blood clots in his lungs. The story took another turn when Tom Pelissero of The Ringer and Netflix, who initially broke the news, followed up with a report that Hurts played against the Jacksonville Jaguars in London last week after having already been diagnosed.
“How committed is Jalen Hurts to football? After initially being diagnosed with a superficial blood clot in London, doctors told him not to sleep as a precaution, so he had been awake for roughly 36 hours when he started against the Jaguars, throwing for 220 yards and a TD,” the insider wrote on X.
Pelissero’s reporting raised obvious questions across sports media about why Hurts was allowed to take the field against Jacksonville after 36 hours without sleeping, and also why the quarterback was allowed to fly home with active blood clots, which can be incredibly dangerous. Pelissero later clarified that he spoke with Hurts’ agent, Nicole Lynn, who confirmed Hurts was allowed to sleep after rejoining the team and that the stadium set aside a room for him to rest. Even so, the decision to let him take the field warrants scrutiny.
CBS NFL analyst Leger Douzable went so far as to call the Eagles’ handling of the situation “disturbing” and questioned what message it sends to other players in the league about how the organization operates.
“This is why this is so disturbing, because this is a guy that has been to two Super Bowls for your organization, won one, and in both of those games he was the best player on the field. If you’re treating this guy like this, what does that message send to the rest of the players in that locker room?” Douzable asked.
“If you’re treating [Jalen Hurts] like this, what does that message send to other players in that locker room? What message does it send to potential free agents that want to come there?”
@LegerDouzable on the way Eagles handled Jalen Hurts’ situation.
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(@NFLonCBS) October 19, 2026
“What message does it send to potential free agents that want to come there? This is the face of our franchise, and you have to protect the warrior, the competitor, against themselves sometimes.”
The former NFL defensive end went on to hold the Eagles to account not only because of the dangers of playing with active blood clots and without having slept for 36 hours, but also for reportedly allowing him to play despite having found out the blood clots spread from his calf to his lungs.
“And then, from what I’ve been reading, they found out that it did spread up to his lungs, and he still played in that game,” he said. “So this is 100% on the Philadelphia Eagles, and it’s disturbing that they allowed the face of the franchise, or any player, right?”
Douzable wrapped up the segment by saying the Eagles should’ve responded differently after Hurts’ diagnosis.
“Somebody should have stepped in and said, ‘Jalen, we love that you’re a warrior. We love that you’re a competitor. But we’re not gonna put you at risk. We’re gonna put you to the side because it’s more about you and your safety.'”
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