Aaron Rodgers Takes Shot at NFL Medical Chief After Jalen Hurts News

Jalen Hurts' 2026 season is officially over after the Philadelphia Eagles announced Monday that their franchise quarterback had been diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis and bilateral pulmonary emboli, meaning blood clots had been found in his lungs.

The news was shocking given that Hurts had played against the Jacksonville Jaguars in London just days earlier. An ultrasound initially revealed a superficial blood clot in his left calf, but doctors reviewed the results and cleared him to play. Follow-up testing later revealed a more serious condition.

The NFL Players Association has since called for an investigation into how the situation was handled, though the Eagles and NFL have both defended the medical decisions. Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was recently asked about Hurts' situation and admitted he didn't know all the details but isn't surprised given his history with the NFL's chief medical officer, Dr. Allen Sills.

"Obviously, I don't know all the details about what's going on. I've seen what's been printed. [But] this guy in charge of all things medical at the NFL office, he and I haven't always seen eye-to-eye about things," Rodgers said. "So, I can't say I'm real surprised."

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Rodgers' most notable public clash with NFL medical policies came in 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic. The then-Green Bay Packers quarterback revealed he hadn't received a COVID-19 vaccine, despite previously describing himself as "immunized." He said he had pursued an alternative treatment protocol with medical professionals he consulted independently.

The NFL and NFL Players Association didn't accept that treatment as equivalent to vaccination under the league's rules. Rodgers faced the protocols for unvaccinated players and publicly criticized the restrictions, questioning whether they were supported by science at all.

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Rodgers has previously challenged the league's approach to health-related rules and defended his right to make personal medical decisions. So it's not entirely surprising to see him disagree with how Hurts' medical situation was handled.

While Rodgers didn't directly accuse Sills or the Eagles' medical staff of mishandling Hurts' injury, his history with the NFL's medical leadership makes it pretty easy to read between the lines.