Raiders coach Jon Gruden is dismissing talk that rookie defensive lineman Maurice Hurst can’t play because of a heart condition.
Hurst’s heart was much discussed as he dropped from a potential first-round prospect to the fifth round of the draft, but Gruden told reporters the heart issue is not an issue.
“I’m not going to answer any more health questions on Hurst,” Gruden said, via Michael Gehlken of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “I realize there’s a lot of ghost stories out there about unnamed sources . . . I hope you just judge him on the field. He’s been cleared medically, and I’ll just leave it at that.”
Hurst said he has “no concerns at all” about his heart, but some NFL teams reportedly removed him from their draft boards when he was diagnosed with a heart condition at the Scouting Combine.
Gruden said that in Hurst and the Raiders’ second-round pick, P.J. Hall, Oakland got the top two interior pass rushers in the draft.