Goodell: NFL welcomes a review of how Eagles handled Hurts
The NFL welcomes an investigation into the Philadelphia Eagles’ handling of Jalen Hurts’ blood clots after the players’ union asked for one, Commissioner Roger Goodell said Wednesday.
Goodell said in his news conference at the end of the NFL’s annual fall meeting that Dr. Allen Sills, the league’s chief medical officer, has gone through the steps that were followed and added that the union had a right to call for a review.
“Obviously, there was a medical evaluation, and I think our protocols were incredibly good there,” Goodell said. “The protocols were followed. Our process is to make sure that’s the case, and our chief medical officer has gone through that, so we’re comfortable that what we’ve seen in the protocols have happened.”
Sills on Tuesday offered a passionate defense of the Eagles medical staff. The NFL said officials were in touch with team doctors and trainers, as well as the Cleveland Clinic in London, where the Eagles were playing the Jaguars on Oct. 11.
League executive vice president Jeff Miller said officials had a good sense of the course of events, which included Hurts being evaluated at a hospital the day before the game. Miller disputed a report that Hurts was awake for more than 30 hours before playing against Jacksonville, saying that the 28-year-old returned to the hotel and slept for roughly seven or eight hours.
Hurts is on injured reserve and expected to miss the rest of the season after a blood clot in his left calf traveled to his lungs. The Eagles and agent Nicole Lynn said Monday that Hurts has deep vein thrombosis and bilateral pulmonary emboli.
His treatment involves blood thinners, and Hurts will not be allowed to participate in any football activities until he is off them.
Goodell downplayed the role that international travel may have had in the situation.
“The most important thing here is Jalen’s health, ultimately, and the future of him,” Goodell said. “He’s a wonderful young man: 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.”
Sills said Tuesday the decision to allow someone with a blood clot to fly depends on several variables, including the location, a patient’s history and more.
Ravens
Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson was able to do limited work at practice Wednesday, according to coach Jesse Minter.
Jackson has missed the past two games with an ankle injury. He was not at practice during the portion open to reporters Wednesday, but the Ravens listed him as limited afterward.
“Lamar was actually able to get a little bit of limited work in today, in preparation,” Minter said. “That’s where that’s at. Again, it’s a day-by-day thing. But he was able to get a little bit of work in and be involved in the preparation.”
Baltimore hosts Cincinnati on Sunday.
Jackson was hurt in a Week 4 victory over Tennessee, and he had not practiced since. The Ravens are 1-1 in his absence after losing at Cleveland last weekend.
Titans
Tennessee coach Robert Saleh confirmed that defensive tackle Jordan Elliott was released after pulling a gun in the parking lot of the team facility but said it was a “terrible lapse in judgment that I recognize as a call for help more than a criminal act.”
The Titans had announced Tuesday that Elliott was released, saying only that it came after his involvement in an unspecified incident at the team’s facility five days earlier.
A person briefed on the incident told the Associated Press on Wednesday that Elliott had a gun in his car and went to the parking lot to retrieve it after a dispute with another player. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the incident is being reviewed.
The NFL prohibits league personnel from taking a firearm to club facilities, stadiums and team hotels and on team planes or buses.
Bills
Buffalo Bills defensive back Sam Franklin appealed the NFL’s decision to suspend him for one game without pay for allegedly spitting at a Raiders opponent during a game last weekend, the player’s agent said on Wednesday.
The appeal was launched within hours of the NFL issuing the suspension, with a hearing scheduled to take place on Thursday.
“We adamantly deny Sam spit on anyone,” Franklin’s agent Harold Lewis told the Associated Press by phone. “We look forward to the process to fully exonerate him tomorrow at the hearing and (provide him) the apology he deserves.”
Franklin also denied the allegation in a message posted on his Instagram account, saying he’s “not a dirty player.”
He said he was defending himself without resorting to spitting at anyone. His social media post included a video showing Las Vegas offensive lineman Delmar Glaze appearing to strike Franklin in a sensitive area below the waist during the Raiders’ successful extra-point attempt in Buffalo’s 33-30 win.
Without providing details or video evidence, the NFL said it disciplined Franklin for violating its sportsmanship rules after determining he spit at an opponent following the extra-point attempt with 1:32 remaining.
Lewis said Franklin was also struck in a similar fashion during a Raiders’ successful field-goal attempt earlier in the game.