Jalen Hurts Blood Clot Mismanagement Results in Up-in-the-Air Quarterback Situation for Eagles’ Future

Is it crazy to say that Jalen Hurts could have possibly played his last game as the Philadelphia Eagles’ starting quarterback?

While that first line wouldn’t be the most shocking thing to hear to some people, rumors of the Eagles potentially moving on from Hurts if he posted another poor season. However, this is a situation nobody suspected or hoped for.

Hurts is likely out for the remainder of the season after being diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis and bilateral pulmonary emboli after further testing on Monday.

According to a statement from the Eagles and Hurts’ agent Nicole Lynn, “Hurts prognosis is ‘very good,’ with a full recovery and no long-term effects expected.” So, with the right treatment and rehab, Hurts should be okay and shouldn’t result in either a career-ending injury or some feared death.

However, despite Hurts being “ok,” the absolute malpractice from the Eagles medical staff in this situation is something that shouldn’t go unnoticed. According to reports, after the Los Angeles Rams loss on Oct. 4, Hurts didn’t receive treatment for an injury he suffered in the game and didn’t get any until the ultrasound that found the blood clot in his calf after the team traveled to London.

The medical staff, despite being aware of the blood clot, cleared him to play a full football game after being at the hospital until roughly 4 a.m. the night before the Jacksonville Jaguars game in London, which he flew to with the blood clot. Then they still had him fly home

The whole situation sounds terrible, and the more that comes out, the more it feels like the Eagles took all the wrong steps in going about it.

The fact that, as a medical team, they felt it was alright to have Hurts play with a blood clot is unacceptable and a disservice to the rest of the team.

So, why didn’t head coach Nick Sirianni or one of the other high-ranking decision makers decide not to play Hurts?

To get that answer, Sirianni went solo to the media Monday afternoon, revealing that their decisions with Hurts come down to their medical staff’s opinion, one in which the organization fully trusts.

“I’m not a medical expert. I lean on our guys in all those situations, right? I’m a football coach,” Sirianni said. “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. I’m glad to be part of an organization that cares about the guys the way our guys do.”

At some point, the people in charge, mainly owner Jeffrey Lurie and general manager Howie Roseman, have to step in and do what’s right and keep Hurts from playing. They also should have answered those questions to members of the media following the announcement that their franchise quarterback was out indefinitely, rather than leaving Sirianni out to dry, but that’s an argument for a different time.

For an organization that prides itself on being a first-class franchise in this league, this is a major stain on their reputation.

With that being said, this Hurts injury now puts you in an interesting situation moving forward, not just for this season but for the future.

Tanner McKee will be the starting quarterback for the remainder of 2026, a year in which the Eagles still have decent chances to make a run for the NFC East title as the rest of the division is down bad six weeks into the season.

McKee is in the final year of his rookie deal, and he’s going to do everything he can to make the most of this starting time under center. In terms of how much the Eagles need to change with Hurts gone and McKee in, they still want to keep the main values of their offense intact.

“You still have your core things that you want to be able to do and the things you do well, that you want to be able to do, and you’re trying to repeat those things,” Sirianni said. “But of course you’re always looking at your players. I think it always starts there, of what your players do well, and try to repeat that and do those things. because they got to go out there and function at a high level against the best in the world.”

We’ll see if that type of coaching is on display this week against the Dallas Cowboys on Monday night and in the games moving forward, as the offensive struggles have been a topic of conversation for the past few weeks.

However, the real question at the quarterback position may come following this season, as this injury to Hurts opens up another can of worms that the Eagles are going to have to answer.

Hurts has just one year remaining on his contract, and the Eagles have quietly stockpiled tons of draft capital. Depending on how this season ends, it could put the Eagles in the top 10 of the draft and put them in play for a top quarterback.

A first-round quarterback could sit under Hurts for a season, learn, and potentially take over his job, similarly to how Hurts took over Carson Wentz in 2020. It’d be a tough decision to let your Super Bowl MVP walk or get rid of him so soon, but with an aging core of players, the Eagles may be forced to make a move like that.

Now there’s a lot of ifs in that scenario, and getting rid of Hurts is a huge risk that the Eagles are unlikely to take. However, in a league that values the cheap rookie quarterback deals, the thought of having to pay their other stars isn’t an easy one when your quarterback is making $50+ million a year.

Again, time will tell what they decide to do, but this injury to Hurts definitely puts an idea into the heads of people making financial decisions.

Get New Articles Emailed Right To Your Inbox: