Eagles QB Jalen Hurts playing with blood clots deserves heavy scrutiny

In the leadup to the Philadelphia Eagles game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in London on Oct. 11, doctors advised Jalen Hurts not to sleep because it was too risky, according to multiple reports from NFL insiders . Yet, the Philadelphia Eagles let him play football.

On Monday, more details were reported on Hurts' blood clot issue, which is expected to keep him out for the rest of the season, according to ESPN . The new details were so jarring that the NFL will have to conduct an investigation into who knew what, when it was known and the process that led to Hurts playing against the Jacksonville Jaguars. ( According to Pro Football Talk , the league was in communication with the Eagles over Hurts' health before the Week 5 game.)

Here are the details, based on multiple reports Monday: Before the Eagles played the Jaguars in Week 5, Hurts was in the hospital until 4 a.m. due to the clot in his leg and didn't sleep "because sleep was a risk," according to NFL Media's Ian Rapoport. Hurts played anyway. Initially, Tom Pelissero of The Ringer reported that "doctors told [Hurts] not to sleep as a precaution, so he had been awake for roughly 36 hours" by the time he played in London. Later on Monday, Pelissero walked back his initial report , saying, "Hurts was up until early Sunday morning getting evaluated at a hospital, he was able to sleep upon rejoining the team and the Eagles set aside a room for him at the stadium. Videos from the stadium show Hurts coming onto the field just before kickoff and he felt rested enough to play."

Even if Hurts wanted to play, and even if medical personnel said he could, there is a clear and obvious risk in a player who was up all night due to a blood clot being on a football field. Common sense and concern for safety should have taken over at some point, which head coach Nick Sirianni said happened.

"We get medical information from our guys," Sirianni told reporters Tuesday . "Our players health is first and foremost. I'm a football coach. I lean on our medical folks in every situation. I have full faith in them. It's not just me who has major care for our players, it's them as well."

What's more, after further evaluation the clots have been found not to be isolated to Hurts' leg, as initially diagnosed prior to the Oct. 11 game. More clots were found in Hurts' lungs, a serious condition that required emergency medical attention and why Hurts is reportedly being shut down for the rest of the season.

Football is a competitive business. Those involved can get caught up with that and make rash and selfish decisions when it comes to allowing players to play.

Even in that scope, having Hurts play against the Jaguars seems overly dangerous.

Even after he was cleared to play (the Eagles said last week that doctors and their medical staff said he was cleared), the coaching staff led by Sirianni had to make the decision to have him active — if Sirianni didn't know the seriousness of the issue, that's another chapter to the story — and let him play on no sleep, dealing with a frightening medical issue, against the Jaguars.

Maybe Hurts insisted on playing, because that's what football players have been trained to do — play. But sometimes they need to be saved from themselves. Playing through a sprained ankle is much different than playing through blood clots.

The NFL will have to look into how this reportedly happened. It's a horrific look for everyone involved. It's nothing to be celebrated.

Hurts played in what ended up being a last-second loss to the Jaguars on Oct. 11. Four days later, news broke that Hurts was ruled out for the Eagles' Week 6 game due to a "superficial blood clot" in his calf. The statement from the team said that "our medical staff and doctors in London" concluded Hurts could play. So he did. And then he practiced last Wednesday when he got back home. Since then he was ruled out, put on injured reserve and then news Monday said he'd be out for the season. Hurts has deep vein thrombosis and bilateral pulmonary emboli.

Based on what we know now, and the treatment he got in London, that entire timeline is stunning. The Eagles and Hurts' agent Nicole Lynn put out a joint statement Monday.

Even if Hurts was cleared, the Eagles playing him in a game after he reportedly had no sleep and was dealing with blood clots deserves further explanation from the Eagles, otherwise everyone involved looks surprisingly cavalier about a player's safety. Everyone, from team owner Jeffrey Lurie on down, should have been involved in the decision on a superstar quarterback playing despite blood clots.

The Eagles are fortunate the situation didn't become more serious during the game. As is, now that more of the puzzle has been revealed after being kept secret for more than a week, a whole new set of questions has to be asked.