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The NFL and the NFL Players Association have begun discussions in their process of jointly reviewing the medical care given to Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts.
Hurts is expected to be sidelined for at least the remainder of this season while being treated with blood thinners after blood clots were found in his lungs.
“The NFL and NFL Players Association are working together to review the matter,” the league and union said in a joint statement Sunday morning to Front Office Sports and other media outlets.
The NFL and NFLPA are discussing the process and details for an investigation in the case, a source tells FOS. The investigation has not formally launched yet, according to that source.
The collective bargaining agreement expressly gives the NFLPA the right to initiate a joint investigation into the care given to Hurts, as it called for Tuesday night, through its joint Accountability and Care Committee with the league.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said Wednesday at the conclusion of an owners meeting in New York that the NFL welcomes such an investigation.
The process is not necessarily quick; the CBA allows for it to take up to 120 days.
The CBA says that “any player or Club, the League or the NFLPA shall have the right to commence an investigation before the Committee concerning the health, safety or medical care provided by Club-affiliated personnel. Within 60 days of the initiation of an investigation, two or more neutral physicians (or other subject-matter experts) will be selected to investigate and report to the Committee on the situation. The neutral physicians shall issue a written report within 60 days of their selection, and their recommendations as to what steps shall be taken to address and correct any issues shall be acted upon by the Parties.”
Hurts, 28, is a former Super Bowl MVP for the Eagles. He signed a five-year, $255 million contract extension with the team in 2023. According to Spotrac, $22 million of Hurts’s 2027 income became fully guaranteed on the third day of this league year, and another $696,000 would become fully guaranteed on the third day of the 2027 league year in March. Some analysts have characterized Hurts’s deal, which runs through the 2028 season, as more or less a year-to-year proposition for the Eagles from here.
The NFL believes the Eagles followed proper medical procedures in the case, a source told FOS on Tuesday.
League medical officials confirmed that stance later Tuesday. Allen Sills, the NFL’s chief medical officer, strongly defended the Eagles’ actions.
“The notion that there are external factors or that any of our physicians would put a player in harm’s way, that’s nonsense,” Sills said in New York at the owners meeting.
The NFL has a medical subcommittee that tracks blood-clotting issues in players, according to Sills.
The Eagles were sharply questioned and criticized by some observers for allowing Hurts to play in a game in London after being diagnosed with a blood clot in his leg, and then travel back to the U.S. afterward.
He subsequently was diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis and bilateral pulmonary emboli, according to a statement released last Monday by Hurts’s agent, Nicole Lynn, and the Eagles.
Hurts will not be permitted to play football while being treated with blood thinners, they said, while adding that his “prognosis is very good, and we expect a full recovery.”
The NFLPA said in a statement Tuesday: “The NFLPA is not aware of any NFL investigation into the medical care provided to Jalen Hurts. In fact, the league previously informed the union that it did not plan to review the care he received. Before conclusions are drawn about how this situation was handled, there must be a full investigation into what occurred. Determining the facts is essential to ensuring players receive the highest level of care and protection going forward.”
Goodell, in response to a question by FOS, said at a news conference Wednesday in New York: “We welcome that. That’s part of our processes. That’s fine. Our chief medical officer has been through the protocols that were followed. So we welcome that. If that’s what they do, they have that right.”
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