NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on Wednesday responded to the NFL Players Association’s call for a “full investigation” into the medical care provided to Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts.
“We welcome that,” Goodell said to reporters in New York at fall league meetings. “That’s part of our processes. That’s fine. Our chief medical officer has been through the protocols that were followed. So we welcome that, if that’s what they do, they go that way, we welcome.”
Hurts, 28, was discovered to have a superficial blood clot in his leg on Oct. 10 in London and played against the Jaguars the next day. A follow-up ultrasound days later revealed the clot moved. And, eventually, that superficial clot turned into deep vein thrombosis and blood clots in his lungs.
Hurts is now expected to miss the rest of the 2026 season as his treatment plan includes blood thinners.
The NFLPA on Wednesday evening released a full statement saying it was “not aware” of any NFL investigation into the medical care provided to Jalen Hurts and said, in part, “Before conclusions are drawn about how this situation was handled, there must be a full investigation into what occurred.”
On Tuesday, the NFL’s chief medical officer Dr. Allen Sills spoke out in defense of the Eagles’ medical staff, saying, “I have tremendous confidence in the Philadelphia Eagles’ medical staff and all our medical staffs.”
Hours later, the NFLPA released their statement calling for a full investigation.
Goodell, who was in attendance in that Eagles-Jaguars game in London, was asked on Wednesday what kind of investigation the league did into the process that was followed with Hurts’ medical care.
“Obviously, there was a medical evaluation and I think our protocols were incredibly good there,” Goodell said on Wednesday. “The most important thing here is Jalen’s health, ultimately in the future. He’s a wonderful young man and not just a great player but he’s someone we all care deeply about. I’m more worried about his health ultimately, but the protocols were followed. Our process is to make sure that’s the case. And our chief medical officer has gone through that.
“We’re comfortable with what we’ve seen and the protocols have happened. When you get into medical evaluations, different people have different opinions on that. You are all reporting different people are making those evaluations without even seeing the player or without seeing the medical records and I think that’s important to understand we have the greatest medical advisors and people that are working on the health of our players.”
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