Jalen Hurts will miss the remainder of the 2026 season after further testing found deep vein thrombosis and clots in both of his lungs, and the Philadelphia Eagles have now lost five consecutive games in his absence.
The most recent of those came on Monday night, a 38-21 home defeat to the Dallas Cowboys that left Philadelphia 2-5 and dropped them well out of the picture they occupied at the start of October.
A Diagnosis That Changed Twice in Nine Days
The sequence began on 4 October, when Hurts was caught in the calf by an opponent’s cleat during a 24-20 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. He later described the resulting clot as having been provoked by that contact.
He sought treatment on the calf after practice on 8 October and was a full participant in training the following day, then travelled with the squad to London for the Week Five fixture against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Specialists in London identified a clot on a scan on 10 October. Reports indicate Hurts remained in hospital until 4am local time before the game, and his agent has since said he did get some sleep before kick-off. He started the next day and played every offensive snap, throwing for 220 yards and a touchdown in a 19-17 defeat.
A second ultrasound on 14 October found the clot had moved. Hurts missed the remainder of that week’s practices, was ruled out of the Week Six game against Carolina, and was placed on injured reserve on 17 October.
The full picture arrived on 19 October. The Eagles and Hurts’ agent, Nicole Lynn, issued a joint statement revising the original diagnosis of a left calf superficial vein thrombosis to deep vein thrombosis and bilateral pulmonary emboli, meaning clots in both lungs.
Treatment, Prognosis and the Decision to Let Him Play
The statement said Hurts is clinically stable with no significant functional limitations, that his only treatment will be anticoagulation, and that he cannot take part in contact activity of any kind until he has recovered. A full recovery is expected and no long-term effects are anticipated.
The decision to allow him to play in London has drawn scrutiny. The Eagles said medical staff and independent doctors had determined that activity and mobility were important and that he could safely play. Nick Sirianni has declined to expand on the reasoning.
“The health of our players is always at the forefront of our mind and we’ll leave that up to the medical experts,” the head coach said.
The NFL reviewed the matter and concluded that the process had been handled appropriately, with no punishment for the club.
Sirianni has been unwilling to discuss what he and Hurts have said to one another privately. “I always talk to our guys and I never put our conversations out there,” he said, before making clear what the absence means to him after six seasons working alongside the quarterback.
“I miss him, and I know that will be the case,” he said. “I just deeply care about him and hope that he continues to improve with what he’s going through.”
McKee Takes Over an Offence Losing Players Weekly
Tanner McKee has started in Hurts’ place and has been competent without being able to arrest the slide. He went 26 of 45 for 215 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions against Carolina, then 23 of 35 for 211 yards with a touchdown and an interception against Dallas.
Sirianni has backed him publicly, saying he has the utmost confidence in the quarterback. The Eagles also signed Joe Milton from the Dallas practice squad on 16 October to provide cover behind him.
The difficulty is that McKee is operating without much around him. DeVonta Smith and Dontayvion Wicks were both unavailable on Monday night, Saquon Barkley returned from a hamstring problem only to leave with a back injury, and Dameon Pierce departed in the fourth quarter with an undisclosed issue.
Where Philadelphia Go From Here
Hurts was named most valuable player of Super Bowl LIX in February 2025, when Philadelphia beat Kansas City 40-22. Less than two years on, the team built around him faces the remainder of a season without him.
The schedule offers no respite. Philadelphia travel to Washington for a Sunday night game with a quarter of the season gone, five straight defeats behind them, and a quarterback situation that will not change before January.
