After losing four consecutive games, Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni has to find a way to save his team’s season. But first, Sirianni did a different kind of damage control for the Eagles on Monday.
In his first press conference since NFL insider Tom Pelissero’s update that Hurts played with no sleep for about 36 hours because of a blood clot, Sirianni faced a barrage of questions on the quarterback.
Throughout the press conference, Sirianni stressed the importance of the Eagles’ players health and the trust he has in the organization’s medical staff.
“The health of our players is always at the forefront of our minds,” said Sirianni on the decision to play Hurts in Week 5 against the Jacksonville Jaguars. “We’ll leave that up to the medical experts. We always, always care deeply about our players.
“That’s when you are completing focused on together and connection, you are always thinking about the well being of your guys and that’s what we were in that situation.”
Eagles’ Nick Sirianni Answers Questions on Jalen Hurts
The Eagles announced in a statement Thursday the team’s medical staff diagnosed Hurts with a superficial blood clot in his calf the day before facing the Jacksonville Jaguars on October 11. Pelissero reported on social media Monday that Hurts played in that contest with no sleep for 36 hours out of precaution.
Pelissero presented Hurts playing in Week 5 versus the Jaguars as a dedication to football moment. Social media users, though, took it very differently and began heavily criticizing the Eagles approach to the quarterback’s blood clot.
It’s important to note that Pelissero has since walked back his initial report slightly. On Monday afternoon, he added this context on X:
“Just spoke to Jalen Hurts‘ agent, Nicole Lynn, who clarified that while Hurts was up early Sunday morning getting evaluated at a hospital, he was able to sleep upon rejoining the team and the Eagles set aside a room for him at the stadium,” wrote Pelissero. “Videos from the stadium show Hurts coming onto the field just before kickoff and he felt rested enough to play.”
But that updated report came out only a few minutes before Sirianni took the podium. The Eagles head coach still faced a lot of difficult questions on Hurts.
Sirianni mostly avoided the questions. Notably, though, he didn’t decline the team should have done anything differently.
“Guys, I’m not a medical expert. I lean on our guys in all those situations,” said Sirianni. “I’m a football coach. I lean on our medical experts in every situation. I have full trust and full faith in them.
“It’s not just me that has major care for our players, it’s them as well. We’re all there. I’m glad to be part of an organization that cares about the guys the way our guys do.”
Sirianni again said he is “not a medical expert” when asked why Hurts was allowed to fly home from London with a blood clot. The reporter who asked that question, The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane, pushed to ask a follow-up question, which led to the most tense moment in the press conference.
Sirianni referenced the organization’s statement last week and his trust in the team’s medical staff as a sufficient enough answer.
Hurts Could Miss Rest of 2026 NFL Season
The Eagles starting quarterback will miss at least four games on injured reserve. But he could be out much longer. Pelissero started his reporting Monday saying the quarterback’s blood clots are getting worse.
“Hurts is expected to be sidelined for multiple months after new imaging over the weekend found several blood clots in his lungs.
Hurts is 59-28 as an NFL starting quarterback. He owns a 2-3 record this season. He had eight touchdown passes with three interceptions along with 933 passing yards before landing on IR.
Last season, Hurts made the Pro Bowl with 3,224 passing yards and 25 passing touchdowns. To conclude the 2024 campaign, the quarterback won Super Bowl MVP.
The Eagles placed the quarterback on IR on Saturday. The Eagles then lost to the Carolina Panthers to fall to 2-4 on Sunday.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
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