NFL Network analyst Michael Robinson issued an apology after he was heavily criticized online for comments he made last week regarding Jalen Hurts’ blood clot, which suggested that the Eagles quarterback was trying to get himself “out of the fray” on this “lost season.”
The former Pro Bowl fullback posed his theory during last Thursday’s “NFL Gameday Kickoff” despite acknowledging that he is not a medical guy. The comments drew plenty of reaction when Robinson first made them and again on Monday when it was revealed that Hurts was diagnosed with blood clots in both his lungs.
It led Robinson to say that he was sorry in a statement on social media Monday night.
“I want to sincerely apologize to Jalen Hurts, his family, the Philadelphia Eagles organization and fan base for my comments last Thursday. They were unfounded and I never should’ve speculated on a health issue of a player nor his commitment to his team,” Robinson said in a short statement.
In his post on X, he also wrote that his “comments were wrong” and there was “no excuse” for them.
Robinson had originally speculated that the Eagles could pin the poor season on Hurts and use that to move away from the Super Bowl-winning quarterback and look into a new QB during the draft.
He then went on to suggest that Hurts was using the injury to get out of dodge.
“It looked like they were trying to pin the outcome of this season on Jalen Hurts just so that they could have an excuse later on to move on from Jalen Hurts,” he said. “And, again, I’m not saying I know nothing, guys. But if I’m just playing devil’s advocate here, and I’m thinking that way, if I’m Jalen Hurts — or anybody in Jalen Hurts’ camp — I’m saying, ‘Well if everybody’s hurt, I’m hurt, too.’
“To me, it looked like Jalen is kind of getting himself out of the fray so that this lost season … he’s pulling himself out so that this doesn’t look like it’s on me.”
Hurts had initially been diagnosed with a left calf superficial vein thrombosis before testing found that the Eagles quarterback was dealing with a deep vein thrombosis and bilateral pulmonary emboli.
“He is clinically stable and has no significant functional limitations. His treatment should only involve anticoagulation (i.e. ‘blood thinners’),” a team statement read.
“During this time, he will not be allowed to participate in any contact activities, including football,” the statement continues. “Jalen’s prognosis is very good, and we expect a full recovery. We anticipate that he will have the opportunity to resume contact football activities when off the 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.”
Hurts has not had a great start to the season with 933 passing yards, eight touchdowns and three interceptions.
