Jalen Hurts' 2026 season came to an abrupt and concerning end due to blood clots, leaving Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni to face a barrage of questions regarding protocol

Jeff Saturday led an impassioned defense of Nick Sirianni as he shifted blame for the Jalen Hurts saga on the Philadelphia Eagles.

Last week, it was revealed that Hurts would miss Sunday's game against the Carolina Panthers, which the Eagles lost 25-14. His injury was confirmed to be a superficial blood clot in his calf, and following the initial announcement that Hurts would miss the game, he was placed on IR.

Now, Hurts is set to miss the 2026 season. He needs to undergo three months of treatment after doctors discovered multiple blood clots in Hurts' lungs, putting an end to football activities for the foreseeable future.

But Saturday is adamant the blame lies elsewhere. The former Indianapolis Colts head coach launched to the defense of the Super Bowl champion, insisting a medical professional or an executive should have faced the music.

“Nick Sirianni had no business addressing those questions, OK, not even a little bit,” Saturday began on ‘First Take.’ “He's not involved in player health and safety. He is the head coach of the Eagles. He is told by medical staff, whether a player is up or whether a player is down. He doesn't control whether a guy gets on a plane to go anywhere.

“He knows little to nothing. And it was set up that way by the Players Association and the NFL, that no coach - whether it's a head coach, position coach, coordinator - has any input into a player's health or who is gonna be up or down for a game. So Nick Sirianni was the scapegoat on this.

“Shame on you, Eagles. Shame on you, Philadelphia, for not putting a medical professional who actually had input into that decision getting up to field these questions.”

Saturday outlined how other head coaches may have dealt with the issue, then insisted that health matters do not come under the remit of a head coach. He added: “You see this from Andy Reid sitting up there, whether it's halftime or end of game: ‘Talk to the doctors. I have no idea if he's gonna be up or down. I'll wait to hear.’ That's the same for Sirianni.

“In the short time I helped with Indianapolis Colts, I will tell you exactly what happens. You get a page at 6 a.m. on your desk that says whether a guy is up or down. You get on with the medical, with the head trainer and the doctors, and they go through each one. And they give you a green or a red: guy's playing or he's not. You don't get a say. You don't get conversation.

“It is literally he's up, he's down. And your only question is how long? Is this two days? Is this a week? Is this two weeks? So you can prepare the next guy behind him.

“And I get the reporters doing his job. I have no problem with Jeff doing that part either. But Sirianni- it should have been, ‘Hey, we got a medical staff’ - but he's the scapegoat, and he had to take the shots fired, and it was... you know.

“But at the end of the day, he has no information that he could even answer.”

The 2-4 Eagles are next in action at home against the 2-4 Dallas Cowboys in an NFC East showdown on Monday Night Football on Oct. 26.