Steelers' Aaron Rodgers Breaks Silence While Bashing The NFL For Jalen Hurts' Scary Situation

The Pittsburgh Steelers have a great cast of characters on the roster for the 2026 season, which is a big reason that the team has been in the news so much. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers is arguably the most polarizing of the bunch, and at this stage of his career, he has made it clear that he does not hold back when speaking with the media. He will always speak his mind and tell his truth. A notable moment where this took place was during training camp in Latrobe when he joined The Pat McAfee Show and bashed ESPN.

Rodgers is currently preparing for Sunday's game against the New Orleans Saints in Paris, France. The team left for Paris Thursday evening, and the veteran quarterback spoke to the media on Friday. He was asked about plenty of things, including the travel plans for the international contest. He also was questioned about Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, who is out indefinitely due to a deep vein thrombosis and a pulmonary emboli. He essentially had blood clots that originated in his legs and then traveled to his lungs.

There is controversy around this injury situation because the blood clots occurred while the Eagles were in London getting ready to play the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 5. It was thought to be just a blood clot in his calf on Saturday, and he eventually wound up playing on Sunday. He then flew back to the United States, and many people have been questioning the medical staff of the Eagles and the NFL. Rodgers spoke about the situation.

"I don't have a close relationship with Jalen," Rodgers said. "Obviously, we're in the quarterback fraternity, so you don't want to see anything like that happen to anybody. Especially a guy who's still in football. Obviously, I don't know all the details about what's going on. All I've seen is what's been printed. The guy in charge of all things medical at the NFL office, he and I haven't always seen eye-to-eye about things. So, I can't say I'm real surprised."

Rodgers was sure to state that he wasn't fully educated on what went on throughout the process with Hurts, but from what has been reported things don't necessarily look great for the NFL or the Eagles when it comes to this situation. Rodgers called out the NFL office and brought up the fact that he hasn't always seen eye to eye with whoever is in charge of the league-wide medicals, which is an obvious throwback to roughly six years ago.

The whole problem with this situation is the fact that Hurts was somehow allowed to play a day after the blood clot was discovered by the medical staff. He was then instructed to stay up all night so that the situation could be monitored, and he then still played in the game the next day. Obviously there had to be a doctor present that cleared him to get on the field, but he was not told not to sleep for an extended period of time as a precaution for what was then thought to be just a superficial blood clot. 

The next issue was the fact that Hurts then got on the team plane to fly home from London. One of the worst things someone with a blood clot can do is get on an airplane for an extended amount of time. It has something to do with the air pressure and sitting down for a long time. The entire situation is messy, and Rodgers of course found a way to throw some shade at the league's medical staff.

Steelers' Matchup With The Eagles Should Be A Little Easier

Pittsburgh plays the Eagles later on in the season, and Pittsburgh should be going against a backup quarterback when that game rolls around. Hurts is currently on Injured Reserve (IR), and he should be out for the rest of the season. He had to be put on blood thinners, and he cannot play contact sports while those are in his system. Fans probably won't be seeing him again until the 2027 season.

What do you think about Rodgers' comments? Let me know on X, @brogannoey!

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