Obviously, this is a very serious matter so I want to say that this RUMOR has NOT been confirmed or acknowledged by ANY Philadelphia Eagles officials.
The website Where’s Weems posted a blog post on August 3, 2011 about Jeremy Maclin’s illness. They immediately took it down a couple of hours later. After searching around the net, I found a commenter on the GangGreen forums who posted the original Where’s Weems article:
This morning we received some worrisome inside information regarding the Eagles WR, Jeremy Maclin. Reports this offseason had Maclin suffering from “mono-like symptoms” and claimed that he’d lost a significant amount of weight. Those reports were troubling, but not nearly as troubling as what we are hearing today:
A good source inside the Eagles has informed us that Maclin may have lymphoma and may be done — and if true, possibly for good.
If valid (which we hope it is not), this is horrible news. Maclin seems like a great guy, and an illness like lymphoma could seriously effect his life outside of football.
Contrary to what we are hearing is the fact that Maclin returned to camp yesterday. Unfortunately, the Eagles are being mum on the subject.
A week ago, Andy Reid said, “I just want what’s best for him — that’s all I care about right now. This is a personal thing and I can’t go any further than that… I’ve had a chance to talk to him every day and we all love the kid.”
Today, Reid added, “Doctors are upbeat on Jeremy Maclin, but all tests aren’t in.” Somethings up… Eagles beat writer, Jeff McLane, is saying that “Jeremy Maclin won’t talk with the media until he practices.” So, we may have to wait a while for clarity on the situation.
Adding fuel to the fire are the new reports that the Eagles have made a post-retirement offer to WR Randy Moss.
We wish Maclin the best, hope that our source is wrong, and that he returns to good health.
If what is written above is true, it looks like Jeremy Maclin has/had lymphoma (cancer). Again, NONE of this has been confirmed by the Eagles. It is purely speculation.
Here is the message posted on Where’s Weems’ website after they took down the original post:
UPDATE: So, if you saw what was posted here earlier this morning, I suppose you can’t unsee it or forget it. In any event, our source* has asked us to take down whatever we had posted, due to the sensitive nature of the information and the fact that there is a strict policy inside the organization regarding the information. So, let’s all move along and go back to wondering if we’ll go 15-1 or 16-0 this year, how the Wildcat will be used, and how much the Redskins suck.
*We realize that we here at Weems post a lot of funny links, photoshops, and not-so-serious stuff. We don’t consider ourselves the New York Times or the Wall Street Journal, and we hope you don’t either. Rest assured, however, that if we get a tip or a piece of information and pass it along, it’s not from Mikey in Fishtown who heard sumthin’ down theres by Gino’s. This was/is a legit source — one that we can’t reveal (journalism!) — so you’ll either have to just trust us or consider it bullshit. Your call.
Go Birds.
As you can imagine, I write this post with the highest form of reverence toward Jeremy Maclin and his family. I hope it’s not cancer and I’m sure all of you feel the same way. My goal is to present rumors and what is being said around the league to you, the fans. Form your own opinions from here…
UPDATE (8/11): Today the Eagles announced that Jeremy Maclin will be heading to St. Louis to get some further testing done. When asked about Maclin, Andy Reid replied, “We don’t know what Maclin’s illness is.”
UPDATE (8/15): The Sporting News is reporting that Jeremy Maclin’s brother, Andre, told them the family will make an announcement about Jeremy’s condition on Tuesday. He also said that Jeremy is “fine.” Read more
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