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1 outlets · filed 20 October 2026

Jalen Hurts played through a blood clot. Are NFL players cattle?

This story is from the archive. It was covered between 20 October 2026 and 20 October 2026, and nothing below has been updated since. See what is happening now.

The Eagles quarterback’s recent health issues highlight how football’s toughness culture puts its players at risk Jalen Hurts is likely to miss the rest of the NFL season after an ultrasound revealed blood clots in his lungs. Thankfully, he’s now restricted from playing for the immediate future, mea

What the coverage shows

Both outlets center the NFL Players Association’s call for an investigation into how Jalen Hurts’ blood clot diagnosis was handled. ABC News stays tightly on the investigation angle and cites a discussion with ESPN’s Andscape writer Justin Tinsley, while The Guardian US shifts into a broader critique of football’s toughness culture and frames Hurts’ case as a player-safety issue. The Guardian’s extract is also the only one to say Hurts is likely to miss the rest of the season and that the blood clots were found in his lungs.

Written by Crossfiled from the 1 headlines and extracts below, not from the articles themselves. It describes how the outlets framed this, not what happened. Open any headline for a summary of that article.

The Guardian US

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