Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts likely out for season after blood clots found in lungs and leg

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts was diagnosed with blood clots in his lungs and leg, the team said Monday, likely sidelining the Super Bowl MVP for the rest of 2026. Hurts last played Oct. 11, in the Eagles’ 19-17 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in London before he was kept off the field in Sunday’s 25-14 setback to the visiting Carolina Panthers. Hurts was originally diagnosed with “superficial vein thrombosis” in his left calf, the team said. “After further testing and monitoring, the current diagnosis is a deep vein thrombosis, as well as bilateral pulmonary emboli,” the statement continued. “He is clinically stable and has no significant functional limitations.” Both deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE) are forms of venous thromboembolism, commonly known as blood clots in the veins, according to the Centers for Disease Control. DVT is when a blood clot develops in a vein deep within the body, most commonly in the leg, the CDC says. PE happens when pieces of a blood clot from a DVT break off and travel to the veins in the lungs. The clots can prevent blood from reaching the lungs, which can be fatal. He’s being treated with blood thinners and “during this time, he will not be allowed to participate in any contact activities, including football,” according to the Eagles. Hurts was held out of the game on Sunday after the Eagles announced last week a superficial blood clot was found in London ahead of the game against the Jaguars. Despite that diagnosis, Hurts still played the full game in London. “Our medical staff and doctors in London reviewed the results and concluded that activity and mobility were important and that [Hurts] could safely play,” the team said last week, adding that Hurts “played without limitation.” But when a follow-up scan was conducted back in Philadelphia, the team said the superficial blood clot had moved, which prompted them to pull Hurts from the game against the Panthers. Further testing revealed the deep vein clot and the clots in the lungs, leading to Hurts being indefinitely sidelined. The team didn’t set an exact timeline for his return, though action for 2026 seems highly unlikely. A blood thinner treatment can typically last between three months and six months as doctors bring the condition under control and search for any previously undiagnosed, underlying conditions in a patient. And contact sport athletes cannot play while taking blood thinner due to the risk of an uncontrollable, and potentially deadly, bleed from an injury. “We anticipate that he will have no long-term effect,” the club said. Hurts was MVP of Super Bowl 59, leading his team to a 40-22 win over the Kansas City Chiefs on Feb. 9 2025, in New Orleans. The team’s 2026 fortunes now rest in the hands of career backup Tanner McKee, a sixth-round 2023 pick. The 26-year-old Stanford alum comes from the same high school graduation class as current NFL signal callers Brock Purdy of the San Francisco 49ers, Trevor Lawrence of the Jacksonville Jaguars and Will Levis, who is on the practice squad of the New York Jets. Philadelphia won the 2018 Super Bowl with backup QB Nick Foles leading the Birds past Tom Brady’s New England Patriots. The journeyman Foles was the game’s MVP, executing one of football’s most famous trick plays that evening, the “Philly Special.”