Longtime college football broadcaster Kirk Herbstreit will certainly have his hands full this football season as he begins his first season of full-time NFL coverage for Thursday Night Football with Amazon along with maintaining his role at ESPN on College Gameday.
Many are excited to see a ton of Herbstreit this football season, but he revealed some concerning health issues that he has gone through this offseason that have many worried about his heavy workload this fall.
He revealed in an interview with the Los Angeles Times on Monday that he dealt with blood clots in his lung this offseason after going to the doctor for some breathing problems.
“Your heart arteries are crystal clear, look great,” Herbstreit detailed of the doctor’s diagnosis. “But, you’re not going to believe this: You have clots in your lungs.”
“Somehow they got into my bloodstream, went through my heart and into my lungs,” Herbstreit added. “Once it got into the lungs, it’s like a dead end. They’re in your lungs, but they go through your heart. That’s where people die. … And so I was just like, ‘Damn.’ ”
Many were surprised at the time when he missed ESPN’s coverage of the 2022 NFL Draft, but Herbstreit detailed that these scary health concerns happened around that timeframe in late April.
Following this admission, many around the football world took to social media to praise Herbstreit for his candidness about this scary situation.
.@KirkHerbstreit is the hardest working man in sports! We are lucky to have this trusted voice on #TNFonPrime https://t.co/LDcT430pr2
— Amy Palcic (@amypalcic) August 28, 2022
Terrific story on @KirkHerbstreit by @BradyMcCollough of the @latimessports. And a proud alum of @PGSportsNow. Great job, Brady! https://t.co/GzXQ1a0uyq
— Jerry Micco (@PG_JerryMicco) August 28, 2022
Great story. Enjoy both the college and NFL seasons. Be well, Herbie.
— Patrick Schmidt (@PatrickASchmidt) August 28, 2022
Oh wow. https://t.co/BGf1ebEg7W
— Mookie Alexander (@mookiealexander) August 28, 2022
Had no idea about the blood clots. Stay safe this fall, Kirk!
— Jim Weber (@JimMWeber) August 28, 2022
Hopefully his health concerns are behind him and he can have a long and successful season in the booth for both his NFL and college football coverage next season.
