Pamela Hurts, the mother of Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, spoke out after her son’s blood clot diagnosis stirred major conversation and debate.
“Just a reminder, y’all. Be grateful,” Pamela said in a TikTok video posted on Monday, October 19. “Be grateful for where you are and what you have because your life could change at a blink of an eye. Be grateful. What are you grateful for?”
Pamela captioned the clip, “Things could always be worse…”
She shared the video hours after it was revealed that Jalen, 28, is expected to miss the remainder of the season because doctors discovered multiple blood clots in his lungs.
Jalen will be sidelined for at least three months as he undergoes treatment involving blood thinners.
The Eagles and Jalen’s agent, Nicole Lynn, released a statement on Monday afternoon revealing he had been diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis and bilateral pulmonary emboli, which means blood clots traveled from the quarterback’s legs to his lungs.
“Jalen’s prognosis is very good, and we expect a full recovery,” the statement said. “We anticipate that he will have the opportunity to resume contact football activities when he is off blood thinners. In the meantime, he will remain active around the team and continue to condition. More importantly, we anticipate that he will have no long-term effects.”
Jalen was initially diagnosed with a superficial blood clot in his calf after being “cleated” during the Eagles’ game against the Rams on October 4. The diagnosis came while the Eagles were in London to face the Jacksonville Jaguars on October 11.
After a hospital visit, the quarterback did not return to the team hotel until 3 a.m. on the day of the Jaguars game, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Jalen then slept until 10:30 a.m., when the team left the hotel for London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Despite the initial blood clot diagnosis, Jalen was still allowed to play in the game. Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni spoke to the media on Monday, when he was asked about that decision.
“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, 45, said, adding that “the health of our players is always at the forefront of our mind.”
Backup quarterback Tanner McKee stepped up in Jalen’s absence on Sunday, October 18, a 25-14 loss to the Carolina Panthers.
“I haven’t been without Jalen for an extended period of time,” Sirianni noted. “I have the utmost confidence in Tanner, 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.”
He added, “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.”
The Eagles host the rival Dallas Cowboys on Monday, October 26.
