Nick Sirianni declines to say whether he supports an NFLPA investigation into the Jalen Hurts matter
Eagles general manager Howie Roseman, owner Jeffrey Lurie, and the team's medical staff have yet to answer questions about the handling of Hurts' blood clots.
Nick Sirianni hasn’t said much about the Eagles’ handling of Jalen Hurts’ blood clots, instead stating that he’s “not a medical expert” and that he trusts the team’s medical staff.
But now the NFLPA has called for an investigation. Then, one day later, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said that the league welcomes that. Does Sirianni welcome this too?
“I’m not going into any of that,” Sirianni said when asked about this in his pre-practice news conference on Thursday. “Respect your question and obviously I understand that everybody has questions about this. I care deeply about Jalen and his well-being is first and foremost. But really, I’m here to talk about the Cowboys and our team in this week of practice.”
After reports indicated that the Eagles would not be punished by the NFL for their handling of Hurts’ injury, the NFLPA said it hoped to investigate the process surrounding Hurts being cleared to play Week 5 against the Jacksonville Jaguars in London, despite having blood clots in his calf. The clots have since spread to Hurts’ lungs, and he will likely miss the remainder of the season.
“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 NFLPA’s 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.”
Goodell, speaking at a news conference Wednesday, said the NFLPA had a right to call for a review, but that he was “comfortable” that Dr. Allen Sills, the NFL’s chief medical officer, followed proper protocols.
“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 also spoke this week, offering a strong defense for the Eagles’ medical team. The Eagles, according to Sills, were in touch with the league as well as the Cleveland Clinic in London as they evaluated Hurts’ condition.
Eagles general manager Howie Roseman, owner Jeffrey Lurie and the team’s medical staff have not been made available to answer questions about the team’s handling of Hurts’ blood clots.
“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.
Sirianni responds to $250,000 fine
The Hurts situation isn’t the only controversy Sirianni is dealing with this week.
On Wednesday, Sports Illustrated reported that the NFL fined him $250,000 for conduct toward game officials. New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel and New York Jets coach Aaron Glenn were fined the same amount, according to the report.
The fines, according to multiple reports, are on hold and can be repealed with good behavior. It’s unclear when the fines were issued or what specific behavior precipitated them.
Sirianni initially didn’t have much to say when asked about this Thursday.
“I won’t get into my conversations with the league,” Sirianni said. “I try to keep everything player-related as far as our conversations with players in-house. Same with conversations with the league. Same with conversations with the referees association. I just keep that at that.”
He then expanded on this, stating that he’s trying to grow in several facets of his life.
“You’re always trying to get better as a coach on a daily basis,” Sirianni said. “I’m always trying to get better as a human being, as a Christian, as a father, as a husband, as a son on a daily basis.
“I want to continue to grow as a person and as a coach. But that doesn’t mean we’re perfect and we all fall.”
Even with all the injuries and ineffectiveness through six games, Sean Mannion is still a believer in the Eagles’ offense, saying the problems are “totally fixable.” The Inquirer’s Jeff McLane and Marcus Hayes have some thoughts on the state of Mannion’s group, as well as a defensive unit that’s also been underwhelming this season. Listen here.
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