Jalen Hurts Sidelined After Blood Clots Reach Both Lungs

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts will miss additional games this season after doctors found a deep vein thrombosis and bilateral pulmonary emboli — blood clots in both lungs — the team said in a statement Monday reported by ABC News. The diagnosis followed a week of escalating tests that began with what the Eagles initially called a "superficial blood clot" in Hurts' calf.

What did the Eagles announce about Hurts' diagnosis?

The team's statement, shared on social media and relayed by Hurts' agent, confirmed two linked conditions: deep vein thrombosis (DVT), a clot in the deep veins usually found in the legs, and bilateral pulmonary emboli (PE), meaning clot material has reached both the right and left lung, according to ABC News. A pulmonary embolism forms when part of a DVT clot breaks free and travels to the lungs — a complication the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention describes as potentially life-threatening, ABC News reported.

"Jalen's prognosis is very good, and we expect a full recovery," the Eagles said in the statement cited by ABC News.

How did a calf clot turn into clots in both lungs?

The sequence matters for understanding the severity. Hurts was "cleated" during an Oct. 4 game against the Los Angeles Rams, and first sought treatment for calf pain on Oct. 8, the Eagles said, as reported by ABC News. He still traveled with the team to London and played against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Oct. 11. A follow-up ultrasound taken after that game showed the small clot had moved, according to the Eagles' earlier statement cited by ABC News. Additional testing this week upgraded the diagnosis from a superficial calf clot to DVT with bilateral PE — the clot had progressed from a surface vein into the deep venous system and then into the lungs.

What do DVT and pulmonary embolism actually mean for his health?

The Journal of the American Medical Association lists known risk factors for blood clots as prior injury or trauma to the affected limb, prolonged travel or immobility, recent surgery, a prior IV in the vein, oral contraceptive use, a history of cancer, or a known clotting disorder, ABC News reported citing JAMA. A cleat injury followed by a transatlantic flight to London touches at least two of those categories. Left unmanaged, pulmonary embolism can cause permanent lung damage, low blood-oxygen levels, and knock-on damage to other organs from oxygen deprivation, according to the CDC figures relayed by ABC News. The Eagles said they anticipate "no long-term effects."

What's the treatment plan and return timeline?

Hurts is on blood-thinner medication now and is barred from any contact activity, including football, per the team's statement to ABC News. He will stay active around the team and keep conditioning, but the Eagles said he can resume contact work only once he is off the blood thinners — a standard precaution since anticoagulants raise bleeding risk during physical contact. No specific return date was given in the team's statement reported by ABC News.

"Jalen's prognosis is very good, and we expect a full recovery," the Eagles said, adding they anticipate he will have the opportunity to resume contact activities once off blood thinners and expect no long-term effects.

What should Eagles fans and fantasy managers watch for next?

• Blood-thinner duration: No timetable was disclosed; the length of anticoagulant treatment will determine how soon Hurts can resume contact drills, per the Eagles' statement to ABC News.
• Next ultrasound or imaging update: The team has previously issued follow-up test results publicly, as it did after the London trip, according to ABC News.
• Backup quarterback usage: With Hurts barred from contact, the Eagles' depth chart becomes the near-term storyline for the Panthers matchup and beyond.
• Any statement on long-term clearance: The team said it expects "no long-term effects," but a formal all-clear would typically follow repeat imaging once medication ends.

The case underscores a pattern increasingly discussed in sports medicine: a minor-looking soft-tissue injury, combined with travel, can escalate quickly. The Eagles' own disclosures — from "superficial blood clot" on Oct. 8 to bilateral pulmonary emboli roughly two weeks later — illustrate how fast a DVT can progress to PE without early anticoagulation, the condition ABC News and the Eagles described in back-to-back statements.