{"id":2209520,"date":"2026-10-20T19:50:17","date_gmt":"2026-10-20T16:50:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2209520"},"modified":"2026-10-20T19:50:17","modified_gmt":"2026-10-20T16:50:17","slug":"ex-nfl-star-merril-hoge-recalls-near-death-experience-amid-jalen-hurts-controversy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2209520","title":{"rendered":"Ex-NFL Star Merril Hoge Recalls Near-Death Experience Amid Jalen Hurts Controversy"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/imagez.tmz.com\/image\/3f\/16by9\/2026\/10\/20\/3f72eb03ab9a4b7485b31cbc59f832fb_xl.png&#8221;]<\/p>\n<article class=\"article article--permalink \">\n<header class=\"article__header\">\n<h1 class=\"article__header--headline-title\">Ex-NFL Star Merril Hoge Recalls Near-Death Experience Amid Jalen Hurts Controversy<\/h1>\n<h2 class=\"article__header--headline-fragments\"><span class=\"article__header--hf1 text-uppercase h3\">Ex-NFL Star Merril Hoge<\/span><span class=\"article__header--hf2 text-uppercase h1\">Jalen Hurts&#8217; Health Scare Brings Back Painful Memories<\/span><\/h2>\n<div class=\"social-media-container\" role=\"region\">\n<ul class=\"social social--sm\">\n<li>\n<div class=\"media-swipe\">Exclusive<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"social-item\">\n<li class=\"social-item\">\n<li class=\"social-item\"><\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tmz.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" class=\"google-preferred-btn js-track-link\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"google-preferred-btn__icon\" src=\"https:\/\/static.tmz.com\/tmz-web\/img\/article\/google-icon.svg\" alt=\"Google\" loading=\"lazy\"><span class=\"google-preferred-btn__title\">Add TMZ on Google<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"byline\">By <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tmz.com\/pages\/about\/\">TMZ Staff<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"date-wrapper\">\n                                                                        Published <time class=\"published-datetime\" datetime=\"2026-10-20T12:50:17-07:00\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tmz.com\/sitemaps\/article\/202610\"><br \/>\n                October 20, 2026<br \/>\n                <\/a><br \/>\n                            12:50 PM PDT<\/time><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article__blocks clearfix\">\n<section id=\"cb-2d5a46ef8ab4358dc8e3eab7d8532bc8\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-video-block canvas-video-block-permalink canvas-video-block--default  canvas-block-is-first \">\n<div class=\"video-block\">\n<div class=\"ratio ratio-16x9\">\n<div id=\"video-player-8a9fb3ca-7cfe-4cab-b4cf-53d6ded39384-2147207485-image-holder\" class=\"ratio ratio-item video-block__image-holder\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/imagez.tmz.com\/image\/43\/16by9\/2026\/10\/20\/43a7ce13d39047bcaf44c4be0012d163_md.png\" alt=\"102026 merril hoge kal\" width=\"728\" height=\"410\" class=\"img-fluid\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<footer id=\"video-player-8a9fb3ca-7cfe-4cab-b4cf-53d6ded39384-2147207485-footer\" class=\"media-footer video-block__media-footer\"><span class=\"media-launch-text video-block__media-launch-text\">DROPPED THE BALL<\/span><\/footer>\n<div class=\"video-block__media-info\">\n<div class=\"video-block__media-permalink\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tmz.com\/watch\/merril-hoge-jalen-hurts-blood-clots-philadelphia-eagles-10-20-2026\/\">Video: Merril Hoge Details Near-Death Experience Amid Jalen Hurts Controversy<\/a><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"media-credit video-block__media-credit\">TMZSports.com<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"cb-9c1085954a3d7fc0f590f6bf198d97e4\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-text-block canvas-text-block-permalink canvas-text-block--default  \" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;permalink&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;text_block&quot;}\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tmz.com\/people\/merril-hoge\/\" rel=\"noreferrer\"><strong>Merril Hoge<\/strong><\/a> says a doctor&#8217;s bad call didn&#8217;t just end his NFL career &#8230; it nearly ended his life &#8230; and he can&#8217;t help but think about his own NFL health scare when looking at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tmz.com\/people\/jalen-hurts\/\" rel=\"noreferrer\"><strong>Jalen Hurts<\/strong><\/a> controversy.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"cb-f0c66c1368e37c0ef58d564e52246451\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-text-block canvas-text-block-permalink canvas-text-block--default  \" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;permalink&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;text_block&quot;}\">\n<p>The former Steelers running back and ESPN personality joined &#8220;TMZ Live&#8221; Tuesday to weigh in on the controversy surrounding the Philadelphia Eagles and their star QB, who was ruled out for the season due to blood clots.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"cb-bb68f1571bab186fdb924585ca8196b0\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-image-block canvas-image-block-permalink canvas-image-block--default  \">\n<div class=\"image-block\"><a class=\"js-click-image js-track-link image-lightbox-preview\" data-node-ref=\"tmz:image-asset:image_jpg_20261020_19acabea3f9d462bbff20a94415e15a7\" data-container-ref=\"tmz:article:ac951c4d-3f6f-4d55-a76a-fd3536951033\" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;permalink&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;image&quot;}\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"img-wrapper\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/imagez.tmz.com\/image\/19\/4by3\/2026\/10\/20\/19acabea3f9d462bbff20a94415e15a7_md.jpg\" alt=\"Merril Hoge getty 1\" width=\"728\" height=\"546\" class=\"img-fluid image-block__img-fluid img-aspect-auto\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"image-block__card-footer\"><span class=\"media-credit image-block__media-credit\">Getty<\/span><\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"cb-3860b37b15f5e9a176a22be0e39c287e\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-text-block canvas-text-block-permalink canvas-text-block--default  \" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;permalink&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;text_block&quot;}\">\n<p>Merril, who retired from the NFL in 1994, says he got some terrible medical advice when he was playing &#8230; revealed just how badly things went wrong when he suffered a concussion on Monday Night Football with the Chicago Bears.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"cb-23ce3c8626544bb2ad9d78eaca328935\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-text-block canvas-text-block-permalink canvas-text-block--default  \" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;permalink&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;text_block&quot;}\">\n<p>He says a team doctor cleared him to play just five days after the injury &#8230; without ever examining him in person. Instead, he claims the doctor asked him one question over the phone: &#8220;How do you feel?&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"cb-d067529d3c21e12183c43b64ad4986a2\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-text-block canvas-text-block-permalink canvas-text-block--default  \" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;permalink&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;text_block&quot;}\">\n<p>What happened next was terrifying &#8230; Merril says he went into cardiac arrest, spent days in intensive care and had to learn how to read again &#8230; all before his 31st birthday.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"cb-166b1ff17ab020030721b650fc56b15b\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-text-block canvas-text-block-permalink canvas-text-block--default  \" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;permalink&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;text_block&quot;}\">\n<p>&#8220;I saw my life over at age 30 &#8230; it wrecked my life,&#8221; he told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tmz.com\/people\/harvey-levin\/\" rel=\"noreferrer\"><strong>Harvey<\/strong><\/a>and<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tmz.com\/people\/charles-latibeaudiere\/\" rel=\"noreferrer\"><strong>Charles<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"cb-297de0987f4b246671ef997d7cd7d56e\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-text-block canvas-text-block-permalink canvas-text-block--default  \" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;permalink&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;text_block&quot;}\">\n<p>As TMZ previously reported, Hurts is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tmz.com\/2026\/10\/19\/jalen-hurts-out-for-season-blood-clots\/\" rel=\"noreferrer\"><strong>out for the season<\/strong><\/a> after doctors discovered <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tmz.com\/2026\/10\/17\/jalen-hurts-diagnosed-with-blood-clots\/\" rel=\"noreferrer\"><strong>blood clots<\/strong><\/a> in his lungs &#8230; but the controversy centers on why the Eagles cleared him to play in London and fly home after an earlier diagnosis of a superficial clot in his calf.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"cb-59bbae9f16c9dbaaf9359ff8a131a6fd\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-text-block canvas-text-block-permalink canvas-text-block--default  \" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;permalink&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;text_block&quot;}\">\n<p>Merril isn&#8217;t accusing the team of intentionally putting Hurts in danger &#8230; but he wants answers about the medical decisions &#8230; namely, from team doctors who haven&#8217;t publicly explained their reasoning.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"cb-fc2e7298113a80ea9eb7f29777eb9f71\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-gallery-block canvas-gallery-block-permalink canvas-gallery-block--default  \">\n<div class=\"gallery-block\"><a id=\"gallery-link-9e4fec6b-8cf6-48b9-a058-cfbaf8026ffe\" class=\"media-link gallery-block__link js-track-link js-click-gallery\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tmz.com\/photos\/2026\/10\/19\/jalen-hurts-on-the-field\/\" data-node-ref=\"tmz:gallery:9e4fec6b-8cf6-48b9-a058-cfbaf8026ffe\" data-context=\"{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;gallery-block&quot;,&quot;section&quot;:&quot;permalink&quot;}\" data-container-ref=\"tmz:article:ac951c4d-3f6f-4d55-a76a-fd3536951033\" data-gallery-layout=\"list\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/imagez.tmz.com\/image\/6a\/4by3\/2026\/10\/19\/6ab5779b951f4ebb87ebc1ec7fcd58e2_md.jpg\" alt=\"Jalen Hurts On The Field\" width=\"728\" height=\"546\" class=\"img-fluid gallery-block__img-fluid img-aspect-4by3\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"media-icon--overlay gallery-block__media-icon--overlay\"><span class=\"media-icon-label gallery-block__media-icon-label\">Launch Gallery<\/span><\/div>\n<footer class=\"media-footer gallery-block__media-footer\"><span class=\"media-launch-text gallery-block__media-launch-text\">Jalen Hurts On The Field<\/span><span class=\"media-cta gallery-block__media-cta\"><br \/>\n              Launch Gallery<br \/>\n              <\/span><\/footer>\n<p><span class=\"media-credit gallery-block__media-credit\">Getty<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"cb-1c94ffd52ef162f9463a59a1b5a7768f\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-text-block canvas-text-block-permalink canvas-text-block--default  \" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;permalink&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;text_block&quot;}\">\n<p>What&#8217;s more, Merril has some ideas about how the NFL can prevent another medical nightmare.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"cb-e7a67bfab693ab3be40c54f069a63dbc\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-text-block canvas-text-block-permalink canvas-text-block--default  canvas-block-is-last \" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;permalink&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;text_block&quot;}\">\n<p>It&#8217;s an interesting conversation with an NFL legend &#8230; catch the full interview on &#8220;TMZ Live.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<ul class=\"social social--permalink\">\n<li class=\"social__item social__item--3items\"><a class=\"btn social__btn social__btn--facebook js-track-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tmz.com\/2026\/10\/20\/merril-hoge-jalen-hurts-medical-controversy\/\" data-node-ref=\"tmz:article:ac951c4d-3f6f-4d55-a76a-fd3536951033\" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;main&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;facebook-footer&quot;,&quot;pos&quot;:1}\"><br \/>\n                Share<span class=\"social__hide-sm\"> on Facebook<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"social__item social__item--3items\"><a class=\"btn social__btn social__btn--x js-track-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tmz.com\/2026\/10\/20\/merril-hoge-jalen-hurts-medical-controversy\/\" data-node-ref=\"tmz:article:ac951c4d-3f6f-4d55-a76a-fd3536951033\" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;main&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;twitter-footer&quot;,&quot;pos&quot;:2}\"><br \/>\n                Share<span class=\"social__hide-sm\"> on X<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"social__item social__item--3items\"><\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<section class=\"related-articles\">\n<header class=\"card-section-header related-articles__card-section-header\">\n<h3 class=\"card-section-title related-articles__card-section-title\">\n              Related articles<br \/>\n            <\/h3>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"row related-articles__row\">\n<div class=\"col related-articles__col\">\n<article class=\"related-articles__card\"><a class=\"related-articles__card-link js-track-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tmz.com\/2026\/10\/20\/inside-the-philadelphia-eagles-handling-of-jalen-hurts-blood-clots\/\" data-node-ref=\"tmz:article:ac951c4d-3f6f-4d55-a76a-fd3536951033\" 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href=\"https:\/\/www.tmz.com\/people\/charles-latibeaudiere\/\" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;main&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;tag-cloud&quot;,&quot;pos&quot;:1}\"><br \/>\n                Charles Latibeaudiere<br \/>\n              <\/a><a class=\"tag-cloud__list-group-item js-track-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tmz.com\/people\/merril-hoge\/\" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;main&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;tag-cloud&quot;,&quot;pos&quot;:2}\"><br \/>\n                Merril Hoge<br \/>\n              <\/a><a class=\"tag-cloud__list-group-item js-track-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tmz.com\/people\/jalen-hurts\/\" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;main&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;tag-cloud&quot;,&quot;pos&quot;:3}\"><br \/>\n                Jalen Hurts<br \/>\n              <\/a><a class=\"tag-cloud__list-group-item js-track-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tmz.com\/people\/harvey-levin\/\" 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href=\"https:\/\/www.tmz.com\/categories\/football\/\" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;main&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;tag-cloud&quot;,&quot;pos&quot;:11}\"><br \/>\n                Football<br \/>\n              <\/a><a class=\"tag-cloud__list-group-item js-track-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tmz.com\/categories\/nfl\/\" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;main&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;tag-cloud&quot;,&quot;pos&quot;:12}\"><br \/>\n                NFL<br \/>\n              <\/a><\/ul>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n<p>[analyse_source url=&#8221;https:\/\/www.tmz.com\/2026\/10\/20\/merril-hoge-jalen-hurts-medical-controversy\/&#8221;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/imagez.tmz.com\/image\/3f\/16by9\/2026\/10\/20\/3f72eb03ab9a4b7485b31cbc59f832fb_xl.png&#8221;] Ex-NFL Star Merril Hoge Recalls Near-Death Experience Amid Jalen Hurts Controversy Ex-NFL Star Merril HogeJalen Hurts&#8217; Health Scare Brings Back Painful Memories Exclusive Add TMZ on Google By TMZ Staff Published October 20, 2026 12:50 PM PDT DROPPED THE BALL Video: Merril Hoge Details Near-Death Experience Amid Jalen Hurts Controversy TMZSports.com Merril [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,77],"class_list":["post-2209520","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-tmz-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2209520","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2209520"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2209520\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2209520"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2209520"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2209520"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}