Jalen Hurts’ Agent Clarifies Week 5 Sleep Situation After Major Reaction

How committed is Jalen Hurts to football? After initially being diagnosed with a superficial blood clot in London, doctors told him not to sleep as a precaution, so he had been awake for roughly 36 hours when he started against the Jaguars, throwing for 220 yards and a TD. https://t.co/rAm0xGNHk0 — Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) October 19, 2026 The response to Pelissero’s report was a downpour of critique by notable names on social media who claimed that the Eagles should never have let Hurts play on no sleep.

This story isn’t about Jalen Hurts’ commitment to football. It’s about allowing a 28 YO man, playing a violent game, to play after staying in the hospital until 4am and being told it was too risky to SLEEP.

Also, handling the story like this will motivate other players to put… https://t.co/2H2y3oEdGx — Nick Cattles (@NickCRadio) October 19, 2026 Geoff Schwartz @geoffschwartz · Follow I’m firmly in the camp if you have to stay awake for 36 hours before kickoff so you don’t die from a blood clot you should probably skip playing that game. 11:40 am · 19 Oct 2026 46516 Reply Copy link Read 137 replies Big Cat @BarstoolBigCat · Follow Being Ruled OUT for sleep but IN for an NFL game is wild. There has to be more of an explanation to this whole thing right? 12:10 pm · 19 Oct 2026 16822 Reply Copy link Read 74 replies Jesse Morse M.D., an online sports doctor, suggested that the Eagles’ medical staff should have been fired for letting the former Super Bowl champion play under those conditions.

However, according to a follow-up report from Pelissero, Hurts did get some sleep prior to the game in Week 5 – per Hurts agent Nicole Lynn.

Just spoke to Jalen Hurts’ agent, Nicole Lynn, who clarified that while Hurts was up until early Sunday morning getting evaluated at a hospital, he was able to sleep upon rejoining the team and the Eagles set aside a room for him at the stadium. Videos from the stadium show Hurts… https://t.co/G35Tn1poa4 — Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) October 19, 2026 “Just spoke to Jalen Hurts’ agent, Nicole Lynn, who clarified that while Hurts was up until early Sunday morning getting evaluated at a hospital, he was able to sleep upon rejoining the team and the Eagles set aside a room for him at the stadium.” Pelissero posted on X later on Monday.

“Videos from the stadium show Hurts coming onto the field just before kickoff and he felt rested enough to play.”

A few hours sleep is not ideal for a QB, who was also suffering from a superficial blood clot at the time, but it is not quite malpractice to let him play given the updated information.

A prior report from Pelissero stated that Hurts will most likely miss the rest of the season after multiple blood clots were found in his lungs. Although Pelissero stated that the 28-year old is currently on blood thinners, he noted that it should not have any long term effects, and that he should hopefully back in time for the 2027 season.

Daniel Arwas Daniel Arwas is a sports writer who covers the NFL for Heavy.com. Daniel began his career in sports writing in 2022 and has covered the NFL and college football for Gridiron Heroics and The Hammer. More about Daniel Arwas