How did Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl MVP quarterback Jalen Hurts end up being expected to miss the rest of the 2026 season with blood clots in his lungs? We’re going to lay out what happened, what Eagles coach Nick Sirianni disclosed publicly, and the three biggest unanswered questions remaining about Hurts’ health scare and ordeal.
Hurts took a cleat to the calf in Week 4 against the Los Angeles Rams, but he didn’t request treatment until a few days later. The Eagles then played the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 5 in London. Following the team’s international flight, an ultrasound revealed a superficial blood clot in his calf, but doctors still cleared him to play. Hurts was up into early Sunday morning before playing the Jags because he was at a London hospital being evaluated. His agent Nicole Lynn told The Ringer on Monday that Hurts was able to get some sleep at a room in the stadium before kickoff.
Hurts then flew back from London to Philadelphia with the team and returned to practice last week. The follow-up ultrasound indicated that the blood clot had moved, which is why he was ruled out for Week 6 at home against the Carolina Panthers. Additional testing changed his diagnosis to having deep vein thrombosis and blood clots in both lungs. That’s why Hurts is now on blood thinners and expected to miss the rest of the season.
What coach Nick Sirianni said on Monday
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni’s press conference kicked off on Monday, with him fielding a number of questions about the confusion surrounding Hurts’ situation. Sirianni was asked how the quarterback was allowed to play and fly back home from London with the team while he was diagnosed with blood clots. Here is what the coach had to say.
Why did Hurts play despite the blood clot and getting little sleep after travel and spending most of the night in a London hospital?
“The health of our players is always at the forefront of our minds, and we leave that up to the medical experts, but we always, always care deeply about our players. When you are completely focused on together and connection, you’re always thinking about the well-being of your guys, and that’s where we were in that situation.”
What do he or the Eagles feel should have been done differently?
“I’m not a medical expert. I lean on our guys in all those situations. 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, so we’re all there. I’m glad to be part of an organization that cares about our guys the way our guys do.”
Why was Jalen Hurts allowed to fly home knowing he had a blood clot?
“Again, I’m not a medical expert. Same deal there. We get medical information from our guys, and we always put the players’ health first and foremost in every situation, and that’s where we were there.”
Was Sirianni briefed by the medical team before Monday’s press conference on why he was allowed to fly with the blood clot?
“Yeah, guys, I talk to them a lot. Again, the medical export experts are there and I think I’ve answered this question multiple times. We put out a statement for you guys to hear, put out multiple statements for you guys to hear. And so and I told you guys that last week that I was going to leave it at that of where where we were on that because we put out a detailed statement for you guys to hear and to understand.”
Who was part of that conversation?
“I fully trust the people that are involved in helping us all make these decisions and you know we have great people here. The same doctors and trainers that helped 21 of our 22 starters be available in the Super Bowl [Super Bowl LIX that concluded the 2024 season] are the same guys today that deeply care about our guys to help them. … You know, again, don’t have much more to say about that. That’s why we put the statement out and also full trust in those guys and always, always, always, the players’ health is at the forefront of our mind and that again goes down to our connection and our team. It kind of feels like you’re questioning that. I know you guys have a job to do, but I’ve got the relationship with the players that I have because of the time that we spend together and because of the care that we have for each other. So it’s always at the forefront of our mind. Again I get all the questions. I know you guys have questions about this. But we care deeply about our guys.”
Biggest unanswered questions
Will the Eagles’ front office or medical staff address reporters?
It remains unclear if Eagles executive vice president/general manager Howie Roseman or Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie will address the public to provide more details on Hurts’ situation. Or if the team will have anyone from the medical staff talk through the decision-making process on Hurts’ health. Sirianni was the only high-ranking person from the franchise to field questions on Monday.
Why was Hurts permitted to fly home?
Here is the only answer Sirianni provided to answer the question of why Hurts was allowed to fly back home while knowing he had blood clots.
“Again, I’m not a medical expert. Same deal there. We get medical information from our guys, and we always put the players’ health first and foremost in every situation, and that’s where we were there,” Sirianni said.
Air travel increases the chances of clotting. While Sirianni could not provide a direct answer, the Eagles medical staff presumably felt it was safe to have Hurts on a plane after he played against the Jaguars.
Will Hurts be able to return to play in 2027?
The answer to this question appears to be yes. The statement put out by Lynn, Hurts’ agent, and the Eagles ended this way:
“Jalen’s prognosis is very good, and we expect a full recovery. We anticipate that he will have the opportunity to resume contact football activities when off the blood thinners. In the meantime, he will remain active around the team and continue to condition. More importantly, we anticipate that he will have no long-term effects.
“We are thinking of Jalen and looking forward to a strong recovery.”
There is a precedent for such a return to play after experiencing blood clots. San Antonio Spurs All-NBA center Victor Wembanyama was diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis (DVT) with a blood clot in his right shoulder in February 2025 after the NBA All-Star game. He was then shut down for the last 30 games of the 2024-2025 NBA season after the clot formed in his right shoulder.
Like Hurts, Wembanyama went on blood thinners and was able to fully return in the 2025-2026 seasonm where he won NBA Defensive Player of the Year honors while finishing third in league MVP voting. He led the Spurs to a Western Conference title before San Antonio lost the NBA Finals to the New York Knicks in five games.