Merril Hoge says a phone-call medical clearance nearly killed him as he weighs in on Jalen Hurts

Merril Hoge knows what it feels like when a team doctor gets it wrong. He says a bad call ended his playing days and very nearly ended his life. The fight over how the Eagles handled Jalen Hurts has brought it all back.

Weighing in on the Eagles

The former Pittsburgh Steelers running back, who later worked as a TV analyst, spoke Tuesday about the uproar around Philadelphia's star quarterback. Hurts has been ruled out for the season because of blood clots.

His own scare

Hoge retired in 1994. He said he got awful medical guidance as a player. After a concussion suffered on Monday Night Football while with the Chicago Bears, he said, a team doctor cleared him to return just five days later without ever seeing him in person.

According to Hoge, the only check was a single question over the phone about how he was feeling.

What followed, he said, was a cardiac arrest and a stay of several days in the ICU. He even had to learn to read all over again. All of it happened before he turned 31. "I saw my life over at age 30 ... it wrecked my life," he said.

The questions about Hurts

Doctors found clots in Hurts' lungs. Critics want to know why the team allowed him to suit up in London and board a flight home after doctors had already spotted a surface clot in his calf.

Hoge is not saying the team meant to put Hurts at risk. He does want the team doctors, who have not explained their thinking in public, to give answers. He also shared ideas for how the NFL could head off another medical crisis.