Jalen Hurts went to the training room with a sore calf. Days later, the Philadelphia Eagles have lost their franchise quarterback for an unknown stretch.
The team placed Hurts on injured reserve on Saturday because of a blood clot in his calf, and ESPN reports he is expected to be out indefinitely.
Here’s the thing: this is bigger than one bad week. The Eagles were already 2-3 and on a three-game losing streak, which is why the offense had already fallen apart through four games. Now the player who runs the whole offense is gone, and nobody can say when he’s coming back.
How the Jalen Hurts blood clot story unfolded
It started quietly. According to the team’s own statement, which NBC Sports reproduced in full, Hurts asked for treatment on his calf on Oct. 8. He told the staff a defender had cleated him in the Rams game on Oct. 4.
Then an ultrasound in London on Oct. 10 found a superficial blood clot. Team doctors and doctors in London judged he could safely play against Jacksonville. He did, and he played the whole game, finishing 21-of-40 for 220 yards and a touchdown in a 19-17 loss.
Then came the follow-up. “On Wednesday night, a follow-up ultrasound revealed movement in the small blood clot,” the Eagles said. As a result, he was ruled out of the Week 6 game against Carolina.
The seven-hour Hurts injured reserve reversal
Saturday changed fast. Earlier in the day, ESPN reported the Eagles were not planning to use injured reserve and hadn’t even discussed it. About seven hours later, the team made the move anyway, after consulting numerous doctors and experts.
That reversal tells you something. Whatever the doctors said, it was serious enough to change the plan in a single afternoon.
What this means for the Eagles
Tanner McKee takes over. Before this season he had started exactly two games, both in Week 18, and the Eagles recently released Andy Dalton, which leaves McKee as the top backup. Meanwhile, the Inquirer reports the injury flipped Philadelphia from a slight favorite to an underdog against the Panthers.
The schedule offers no relief. According to ESPN, Hurts will miss the Panthers, Cowboys, Commanders and Giants games before the Week 10 bye. With a record of 2-3, a month without your quarterback is a long time to tread water, and the Eagles’ line is already thin enough that Howie Roseman is reportedly shopping for help.
What we know about the Hurts calf clot, and what we don’t
Let’s be careful here. The team still calls the clot superficial. ESPN says the Eagles believe it is treatable. Hurts is a 28-year-old, three-time Pro Bowler, and so far nothing suggests this threatens anything beyond his season.
What nobody has confirmed: how long he’ll be out. The team hasn’t given a timeline. Talk of about six weeks comes from unnamed doctors and writers guessing. Former Chargers team doctor Dr. David Chao, who has not examined Hurts, told Fox’s OutKick that if it turns out to be a deep vein thrombosis, “it starts to be measured in months not weeks.” That is a hypothetical, and the team hasn’t said that’s the case.
Treatment is also unconfirmed. Ian Rapoport said it’s “a lot of times, blood thinners,” and a player can’t play while on them. The team hasn’t announced whether Hurts is taking them.
The question hanging over the Eagles QB blood clot
Some fans are asking why he played against Jacksonville once doctors found the clot. The team says it consulted the league office, and head coach Nick Sirianni has declined to get into details. His message was simple: “I love Jalen. Just want him to be healthy.”
That’s the right priority. Football can wait. But the Eagles, less than two years removed from a Super Bowl win, now have to find out who they are without the one player holding this team together.
