The Philadelphia Eagles put out a detailed statement Thursday on Jalen Hurts’ calf, and it answered plenty. It walked through who knew what and when, right up until the blood clot moved in his calf and knocked him out of Sunday’s game.
The detail it skipped sits between the first paragraph and the last. The statement says a Saturday ultrasound in London “revealed a superficial blood clot,” then says a Wednesday follow-up “revealed movement in the small blood clot,” per the team. Jonathan Jones of The Athletic reported Saturday that the Eagles declined to say whether those are the same clot, or how it got worse.
What the Eagles’ timeline says
Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
Hurts told the medical staff he was cleated during the Oct. 4 loss to the Rams. His first treatment came four days later, after he had practiced in full. The team flew to London, and an ultrasound was done the day before the Jaguars game “out of an abundance of caution.”
Doctors there decided activity and mobility were important, and Hurts played without limitation in the 19-17 loss. Jones raised the follow-up questions. Was enough known before the flight to justify an ultrasound in Philadelphia? And once the clot was found, what was the assessed risk of playing and then flying home?
Those answers matter because of what comes next. If Hurts goes on blood thinners, experts say playing a contact sport would be too dangerous, and that would mean an absence of at least several weeks, according to Jones.
Nick Sirianni didn’t add much Friday
Nick Sirianni kept pointing back to the statement. “I know there’s a great deal of interest in Jalen’s health, but I’m not gonna get too much into any of that,” Sirianni said, per The Philadelphia Inquirer. He did note that Hurts and his side had input on what the team released.
In the meantime, the Eagles signed Joe Milton off Dallas’ practice squad for depth, and Tanner McKee makes his third career start, per The Associated Press. The 2-3 Eagles host Carolina at 1 p.m. ET Sunday, and the Linc will want more than a statement by then.
