Goodell Welcomes NFLPA Review of Eagles’ Handling of Jalen Hurts’ Blood Clots

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says the league welcomes the players union's requested review of how the Philadelphia Eagles handled Jalen Hurts' blood-clot diagnosis. Goodell said the NFL believes its medical protocols were followed, while also acknowledging the NFLPA's right to seek an independent review. The direct answer is that the review request is real, but no finding of wrongdoing has been announced.

This is a player-health and league-policy story separate from the question of when Hurts might play again. Hurts is on injured reserve and is expected to miss the remainder of the 2026 season after the Eagles and his agent said he has deep vein thrombosis and bilateral pulmonary embolisms. His medical recovery comes first; the review concerns how the timeline and protocols were handled.

What Goodell said

At the conclusion of the NFL's annual fall meeting, Goodell said chief medical officer Dr. Allen Sills had reviewed the steps taken in Hurts' case. Goodell expressed confidence that the league's protocols were followed and said the league was comfortable with what it had seen.

Goodell did not reject the union's request. He said the NFLPA has the right to ask for a review and that the league welcomes that process. Those two positions can coexist: the NFL can defend the current evidence while allowing the players union to test the record independently.

Why the NFLPA review matters

A protocol review is not automatically an accusation that a doctor ignored a diagnosis or that the Eagles knowingly endangered Hurts. It is a mechanism for examining the sequence of symptoms, medical evaluations, travel, communication and participation decisions. The central question is whether every step met the league's health and safety requirements.

The review also matters beyond one player. Medical protocols become credible only when players, clubs and the league can evaluate how they work in a difficult real-world case. A transparent finding can either confirm that the system functioned correctly or identify a point that needs improvement.

Football Nation will not infer negligence from the existence of the review. Likewise, the league's current confidence is not the same as a completed joint finding. The controlling evidence will be any formal conclusion released by the NFL, NFLPA or the medical professionals involved.

The timeline under examination

The Eagles and Hurts' agent announced that Hurts has deep vein thrombosis and bilateral pulmonary embolisms. NFL.com's Associated Press report said league officials had been in contact with the Eagles' doctors and trainers as well as the Cleveland Clinic in London.

The report also addressed a claim that Hurts had remained awake for more than 30 hours before playing Jacksonville on October 11. NFL executive Jeff Miller disputed that account and said Hurts returned to the hotel and slept approximately seven or eight hours. That is the league's stated account, not an independently resolved finding.

Goodell also downplayed the role international travel may have played. The review may examine travel and timing, but no causal medical conclusion should be drawn from itinerary alone. Blood clots and pulmonary embolisms are serious medical conditions, and individual causation belongs to qualified clinicians with access to the full record.

What is already settled for football purposes

Hurts will not play in Week 7 and is on injured reserve. Tanner McKee remains Philadelphia's quarterback while Hurts receives treatment. The season-long outlook reported by NFL Media is significant, but the Eagles and Hurts' medical team control any official return timeline.

The review does not change Monday's depth chart by itself. Its potential impact is institutional: club procedures, league protocols, reporting requirements and trust between players and medical staffs. Any fine, discipline or rule change would require a separate official action that has not been announced.

The next checkpoints

The first checkpoint is whether the NFLPA provides a public description of the review's scope. The second is any joint or separate finding from the league and union. The third is whether the Eagles change a medical or travel procedure in response.

Hurts' health updates should remain distinct from the policy review. A positive recovery report would not automatically prove the process was sound, and an adverse medical update would not automatically prove misconduct. Each question requires its own evidence.

Football Nation conclusion

The league's decision to welcome the review is the correct posture for a serious player-health case. Confidence in the protocols should be tested by evidence, not protected from scrutiny. At the same time, the existence of scrutiny should not be presented as proof that Philadelphia or its doctors violated a rule.

The responsible conclusion is narrow: the NFL says its medical steps were followed, the union has requested a review, Hurts remains focused on treatment and no completed review has assigned fault. The next story should be the finding, not speculation around it.

Sources and verification

Primary source: Associated Press report published by NFL.com on October 21, 2026. Material claims rechecked October 24, 2026 at 6:23 a.m. CT. Comparison period: Hurts' October medical timeline through Goodell's fall-meeting comments. Source URL: https://www.nfl.com/news/commissioner-roger-goodell-nfl-welcomes-review-eagles-jalen-hurts-blood-clots