If you thought the Jalen Hurts story was winding down Tuesday afternoon, well, it just got a second half.
The NFL Players Association released a statement Tuesday, Oct. 20, saying it is not aware of any NFL investigation into the medical care the Philadelphia Eagles provided to quarterback Jalen Hurts. The union added that the league had previously told it there were no plans to review the care Hurts received. The statement, shared by NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, came just hours after reports that the league would not punish the Eagles.
Check out the full statement below!
Wait, didn’t the NFL already look into this?
Sort of. Stay with me now.
Earlier Tuesday, The Athletic‘s Jonathan Jones reported that the NFL will not discipline the Eagles. According to that report, the league determined the team did not break injury report rules by leaving Hurts without a game designation before the Week 5 matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars in London.
Separately, league spokesman Brian McCarthy said the Eagles will not be investigated or punished for how they handled Hurts’ treatment. The NFL said it was in contact throughout the process with the Eagles’ medical staff and with the Cleveland Clinic in London, where Hurts’ tests were done. NFL executive vice president Jeff Miller went a step further, pushing back on what he called “considerable and uninformed speculation” in Monday’s reporting.
So, here’s the distinction that matters. The league reviewed whether the Eagles followed the injury report. According to the union, nobody has reviewed the medical care. Those are two very different questions, and the NFLPA is making it clear it only heard an answer to one of them.
In case you forgot what happened
According to the Eagles’ Oct. 15 statement, Hurts took a cleat to the calf in the Oct. 4 loss to the Los Angeles Rams and asked for treatment after practice on Oct. 8.
After the team flew to London, an ultrasound the day before the Jaguars game found a superficial blood clot in his left calf. The Eagles said their medical staff and doctors in London agreed that activity and mobility were important and that Hurts could safely play. He started, threw for 220 yards and a touchdown, and the Eagles lost 19-17.
A follow-up scan on Oct. 14 showed the clot had moved. Hurts was ruled out against the Carolina Panthers and placed on injured reserve Oct. 17. Then on Monday, Oct. 19, a joint statement from the Eagles and Hurts’ agent, Nicole Lynn, said the clot had progressed into deep vein thrombosis and multiple clots in both lungs. He is expected to miss the rest of the 2026 season while on blood thinners.
We covered the first part of this saga last week: What is a ‘superficial blood clot?’
So, what can the union actually do?
More than it has done so far, to be honest.
Under Article 39, Section 5 of the collective bargaining agreement, any player, club, the league or the NFLPA can open an investigation before the Accountability and Care Committee into the medical care provided by club-affiliated personnel. That committee includes the NFL commissioner and the NFLPA executive director, or their designees, plus medical experts appointed by each side.
The union has gone this route before. In 2022, the NFLPA launched its own investigation into how the Miami Dolphins handled Tua Tagovailoa’s concussion check.
Mind you, the NFLPA took heat for staying quiet this week. On Monday, Josina Anderson shared texts from a league source asking why no one was talking about the union’s silence, and both Bakari Sellers and Yahoo Sports’ Nate Tice publicly asked when the union would weigh in. Tuesday night, it finally did.
At the same time…
The Eagles aren’t without defenders here. Two hematologists with no ties to Hurts or the team told The Philadelphia Inquirer that the Eagles generally acted responsibly, and that playing with a superficial clot likely didn’t put him at risk. One called the wait before the follow-up exam completely reasonable.
The viral report that Hurts was awake for roughly 36 hours before kickoff also got some pushback. Lynn later clarified that he slept after returning from the hospital before the game. And ESPN’s Adam Schefter asked on 97.5 The Fanatic what, exactly, the Eagles mishandled.
Those are fair points, and they deserve to be part of the conversation.
Here’s my read
It’s okay to admit it – I want the Eagles to be in the clear here. But that is exactly why an actual review matters.
From a PR standpoint, the league dropped the ball on messaging. In one afternoon, fans heard that the NFL concluded its review, that the Eagles won’t be investigated, and that reporters were “uninformed.” Now the players’ own union says nobody looked at the care at all. If the Eagles truly did everything right, a real review under Article 39 proves it. Skipping one just leaves the question hanging over the organization, the medical staff and every player who wonders whether the same call would be made for him.
The league can’t say “trust us” and “we didn’t check” in the same breath. I implore the NFL and the NFLPA to sit down and do the review the CBA already allows for. Not to punish anyone ahead of time, but to answer the question fans, players and Hurts himself deserve answered.
In the meantime, the most important update hasn’t changed. According to Monday’s statement, Hurts is clinically stable, his prognosis is very good and a full recovery is expected. There’s no sense in worrying sick over that part.
The rest? Fans want answers, and rightfully so.
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