Mike Florio says the NFL Players Association has too much on the line to look like it’s standing still while the league and the Philadelphia Eagles sort through Jalen Hurts’ medical situation.
The NBC Sports analyst pushed back after the NFL and NFLPA said Sunday, October 25, that they would review how the Eagles handled Hurts’ blood clot diagnosis. Florio’s concern wasn’t limited to the medical side of the case - he also zeroed in on how the team communicated once the details became public.
He pointed to a report from Marcus Hayes of The Philadelphia Inquirer, who quoted an unnamed source saying league officials were “furious” with the Eagles.
“The union can’t afford the perception of complicity in a possible coverup,” Florio wrote. “Any investigation, in whatever form it takes, must seek real answers to hard questions and provide them to the public.”
Florio also noted the lack of public comments from general manager Howie Roseman and the doctors who first evaluated Hurts.
The joint review follows an earlier NFL response that seemed to back the Eagles. On October 20, NFL chief medical officer Dr. Allen Sills said:
“We don't have protocol about this,” Sills said. “I have complete confidence in the Eagles' medical staff and their handling of this situation.”
Commissioner Roger Goodell also defended the process.
“Obviously, there was a medical evaluation, and I think our protocols were incredibly good there. The protocols were followed,” Goodell said.
The situation traces back to October 4, when Hurts took a blow to his calf against the Los Angeles Rams. An ultrasound in London on October 10 showed a superficial blood clot.
Medical personnel cleared him to play, and he started against Jacksonville the next day. A later check found a more serious issue.
On October 19, Hurts’ representatives and the Eagles announced that he had deep vein thrombosis and bilateral pulmonary emboli, involving blood clots in his lungs.
Hurts was placed on injured reserve after that and began treatment with blood-thinning medication.
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