PHILADELPHIA -- The NFL Players Association issued a statement Tuesday night calling for a "full investigation" into the medical care provided to Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts.
The NFLPA was responding to recent comments from NFL chief medical officer Allen Sills as well as reports that the league will not issue any punishment to the Eagles for how they managed the process surrounding Hurts being cleared to play Week 5 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, according to a league source.
"The NFLPA is not aware of any NFL investigation into the medical care provided to Jalen Hurts. In fact, the league previously informed the union that it did not plan to review the care he received," the statement read. "Before conclusions are drawn about how this situation was handled, there must be a full investigation into what occurred. Determining the facts is essential to ensuring players receive the highest level of care and protection going forward."
Hurts, 28, is expected to miss the rest of the season after doctors discovered multiple blood clots in the quarterback's lungs, sources told NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and ESPN's Adam Schefter on Monday.
NFL officials Tuesday staunchly defended the medical process involving Hurts' blood clot issue.
Sills was blunt in a news conference from the owners' meetings.
"The notion that there's external factors that any of our physicians would put a player in harm's way -- that's nonsense," Sills said.
NFL officials confirmed Tuesday that they had been in contact with Eagles medical personnel and Cleveland Clinic London throughout the process of Hurts being treated. Sills called the Eagles' treatment of Hurts "very conservative, very patient-focused and appropriately guarded in every step."
This week's news prompted rampant speculation about why the Eagles allowed Hurts to play in London.
Jeff Miller, NFL executive vice president overseeing player health and safety, called such speculation "considerable and uninformed," as well as "unfounded."
"Conservative steps were taken to ensure Jalen Hurts' health was always made the first priority and continues to be," Miller said.
The NFL declined to discuss the specifics of Hurts' case, citing medical privacy. But Sills, who has been a team physical for three decades, said he has "tremendous confidence" in the Eagles' medical staff. The NFL works one to two years in advance of international games to prep for medical care, identifying local hospitals, physicians and resources at every site.
An ultrasound in London on Oct. 10 revealed Hurts' superficial blood clot, according to a statement released by the team last week. The Eagles said their medical staff and London-based doctors reviewed the ultrasound results and "concluded that activity and mobility were important and that Jalen could safely play" against the Jaguars.
After returning to Philadelphia, Hurts underwent a follow-up ultrasound Wednesday that revealed movement in the blood clot, prompting the Eagles to rule him out for the game against the Carolina Panthers.
Hurts' agent, Nicole Lynn, and the Eagles released a subsequent statement Monday saying that after further testing and monitoring, the current diagnosis was deep vein thrombosis and bilateral pulmonary emboli, meaning a blood clot traveled from his legs to his lungs.
Sources told Rapoport that Hurts was in the hospital late at night in London, and upon returning to the hotel at 3 a.m. local time, he was able to sleep until the team left for the stadium at 10:30 a.m. Upon arrival, Hurts napped until heading out to the field for pregame warmups.
Eagles coach Nick Sirianni did not go into detail about why Hurts was allowed to play in the Jaguars game after he was diagnosed with a blood clot but maintained that "the health of our players is always at the forefront of our mind" while expressing "full faith" in the team's medical experts.
"The same doctors and trainers that helped 21 of our 22 starters be available in the Super Bowl are the same guys today that deeply care about our guys, to help them," Sirianni said Monday.
Hurts' clot is considered to be "provoked" -- meaning a favorable prognosis with treatment and care -- because he was cleated in his calf, sources told Rapoport.
Sirianni would not reveal the contents of his personal conversations with Hurts but acknowledged that not having Hurts on the field for the foreseeable future will mean a transition.
"I haven't been without Jalen for an extended period of time," Sirianni said. "I have the utmost confidence in Tanner [McKee], but I miss him. I miss him, and I know that will be the case because Jalen and I have been together, head coach and quarterback, for six years, so that's natural.
"I don't want to speak for him in any sense of the matter, but I deeply care about him and hope that he continues to improve with what he's going through."
ESPN's Jeremy Fowler contributed to this report.
