Week 6 Injury Report: A Clot of Trouble

Tons of injury drama leading up to Week 6, including surprising late-week headlines with Jalen Hurts and Tyler Warren. The chaos continued on Sunday with several injuries, including Davante Adams suffering a non-contact leg injury. Let's dive into the research-backed return protocols and injury mechanism analysis for the biggest storylines this week!

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Jalen Hurts

Injury: Blood Clot

Projected Return: Week 12-Season Ending.

Jalen Hurts was placed on injured reserve due to movement in a superficial blood clot in his leg. The Eagles' training staff first discovered the clot after Hurts was cleated in the calf and he underwent imaging. Typically, these superficial blood clots can resolve on their own, but after repeat imaging, the Eagles' training staff discovered movement. They are not taking any chances with this clot moving into the deep vein system and are likely placing him on blood thinners. The standard treatment for blood thinners is 45 days, but in some cases can be three months. Hurts will be unable to make a return while on blood thinners, as taking significant contact while on blood thinners poses a risk of internal bleeding.

Romeo Doubs

Injury: Shoulder

Projected Return: Week 7-12

Romeo Doubs exited Sunday’s game with a shoulder injury. Doubs landed directly on his L shoulder after a touchdown reception, the mechanism for an AC Joint sprain. He will get imaging to rule out a fracture or other forms of injury. Grade one AC Joint sprains average about 10 days out for NFL players. We will wait for the extent of the injury.

Carson Steele

Injury: Shoulder

Projected Return: TBD

Carson Steele took a hit and landed on his right shoulder, exiting the game. Hard to tell the exact extent of his injury, but differential diagnosis includes shoulder subluxation, contusion, or AC joint sprain. We will wait for further reports on this one. If he misses time, the Eagles RB room will be further diminished. Jaydon Blue and Dameon Pierce are the remaining backs until Saquon Barkley is able to return.

Ladd McConkey

Injury: Concussion

Projected Return: Week 7-8

Ladd McConkey’s head slammed into the turf, and he exited the game with a concussion. He will have to go through concussion protocol, progressing through symptom-free day-to-day activities, aerobic activities, non-contact practice, and finally contact practice. There have been several athletes this season who have not missed any time after suffering a concussion, but the average return for NFL athletes is 15 days.

Davante Adams

Injury: Leg

Projected Return: TBD

A non-contact injury resulted in Davante Adams exiting the game Sunday afternoon. He appeared to be grabbing the inside of his left knee. There is not a very clear mechanism of what happened in this case. Adams makes a quick cut on his way into the end zone, which places his knee in a slight bit of valgus force, before running a few more steps into the end zone and eventually pulling up. Worst-case scenario is that this valgus force is a concern for ACL, MCL, meniscus, or some combination of them. Best-case scenario is that he only suffered a mild contusion or a distal hamstring/adductor strain, which can refer pain to the inside of the knee, though this is not the common mechanism for that type of injury. He will undergo further manual testing and an MRI to determine the extent of the injury.

Tyler Warren

Injury: Groin

Projected Return: Week 7-9

Tyler Warren appeared on the injury report Friday with a groin injury and was inactive this week. This is likely a groin strain, which puts him at risk for re-injury when he returns. We have seen several repeat strains, so let's hope that the Indianapolis Colts are cautious with his return.