Kirk Herbstreit Reveals Blood Clot Diagnosis; Won't Cover 2022 NFL Draft for ESPN

Longtime football analyst Kirk Herbstreit has been a mainstay of ESPN's NFL draft coverage for years, but he won't be present for this year's event, which begins Thursday in Las Vegas.

Herbstreit announced Monday on Twitter that doctors recently found a blood clot in his system and he won't attend the draft "out of an abundance of caution."

"I love the draft. I love watching the players, their stories, the coverage of it, watching the families, the emotions that come with it, and I'm just sad I will not be able to be out there," Herbstreit said. "But I will be watching like everybody else, look forward to seeing all the different storylines unfold, but I will see you guys at next year's draft."

Herbstreit joined ESPN in 1996 and is a lead analyst for College GameDay alongside host Rece Davis, Desmond Howard, David Pollack and Lee Corso. Herbstreit replaced Jon Gruden for ESPN's NFL draft coverage in 2018 when he became head coach of the Raiders, who were in Oakland at the time.

Last month, the New York Post's Andrew Marchand reported that Herbstreit would be the new color commentator for Thursday Night Football on Prime Video. He will be paired with legendary announcer Al Michaels in the broadcast booth. Shortly after the report of Herbstreit's deal with Amazon, Marchand reported that Herbstreit agreed to a new multiyear extension with ESPN that added three years to the two years already remaining on his contract.

Herbstreit will reportedly stick to college football exclusively with ESPN, while his NFL commentary is strictly reserved for Amazon.