Chris Russo Blasts NFL Over Jalen Hurts, Says Money Comes Before Safety

“All they care about is making as much money as they possibly can,” Chris “Mad Dog” Russo said, accusing the NFL of putting revenue ahead of the players whose health it promises to protect.

Speaking on SiriusXM’s Mad Dog Unleashed, Russo challenged the league’s credibility over its handling of Jalen Hurts’ blood-clot situation. His criticism reached beyond the Eagles quarterback’s clearance to play in London to the NFL’s international travel, playing surfaces and pursuit of an 18th regular-season game.

“The NFL does not deserve any benefit of the doubt with health and safety for its players,” he said.

Hurts played against Jacksonville on October 11 after specialists in London diagnosed a superficial blood clot in his left calf. The Eagles said their medical staff and London doctors determined that he could safely play. Further testing later identified deep vein thrombosis and blood clots in both lungs. The team and his agent, Nicole Lynn, said on October 19 that he was clinically stable, receiving blood thinners and barred from contact activities during treatment.

Russo acknowledged that the medical decisions in this particular case could prove defensible. “And they might actually be proved correct in this situation with Hurts,” he said. “I don’t know that.” His objection was to accepting the league’s assurances on trust.

“But I mean, all the league cares about is the idea of let’s make more money, let’s put games all over the place, let’s put games on Thursday night, Wednesday afternoon, Friday night. Let’s make them play a Sunday and a Thursday. Let’s play three games in 11 days. Let’s play an 18-game schedule.”

He rejected Roger Goodell’s assurances in equally direct terms: “You have not earned that trust.”

The NFLPA called on Tuesday night, October 20, for a full investigation into Hurts’ care. “Before conclusions are drawn about how this situation was handled, there must be a full investigation into what occurred,” the union said in its statement, reported by ABC News.

Goodell said on October 21 that the league welcomes a review and maintained that its protocols were followed.

The NFL’s chief medical officer, Dr. Allen Sills, defended the treatment on October 20. He said the medical staff’s approach was conservative and that a condition’s progression did not establish a failure of care. NFL officials said they had remained in contact with the Eagles and Cleveland Clinic London.

The 18th-game argument

Russo also challenged the argument that removing a preseason game would justify another regular-season game. He dismissed that trade-off on the grounds that many established players already sit out preseason action, then accused Goodell of making expansion a priority while publicly emphasizing safety.

“How in the world can you be such a hypocrite that you tell the world that you care about safety, that your main goal in life is to add another game?” Russo asked. “Now, don’t you see the hypocrisy, Roger, in that?”

“Where’s the owner?”

His demand for accountability in Philadelphia focused on Lurie. Russo objected to head coach Nick Sirianni being left to answer medical questions, arguing that the owner should address the decisions made by the organization he runs.

“Where’s the owner? How about him show some guts? How about him face the media yesterday or Monday in Philadelphia? Forget the GM. How about the owner?”

Russo then proposed what Lurie should say: “I take responsibility. It’s my team, my quarterback.” Those were Russo’s suggested words for the owner, not a statement Lurie had made.

The Eagles’ October 15 account said a follow-up ultrasound after the team returned from London showed movement in the clot, prompting Hurts to be ruled out against Carolina. The October 19 joint statement said the team and Lynn expected a full recovery and anticipated that Hurts could resume contact football after coming off blood thinners.

Russo’s criticism of Sirianni’s position was concise: “If he’s told he can play, he plays. He’s not a doctor.”