I don't know how to address the Trey Smith situation correctly. I love and appreciate his courage and his desire to play football in the NFL but he has cited Okung and Andrews, who have faced similar issues, and within a couple of years of their diagnosis/events, both may have played their last down in the NFL.
It's dangerous just to have a history of pulmonary emboli. Long-term survival chances, even with the best treatment and conditions, are diminished.
It's incredibly stressful, bruising, and brutal to be a lineman in the NFL. Week in/week out physical challenges, pain, and just the danger of a finger dislocation..... an extra hard helmet to the chest..... a rolled ankle.....
All of those could foster a new and deadly pulmonary emboli, even with anticoagulants.
The danger is real. I understand that Trey is willing to take the chance but I also understand that an NFL team doesn't want to risk having a player collapse and later die....... from a previously known condition.
This is why Chris Bosh was forced into retirement by the NBA. Lots of intense physical contact and a history of blood clots is a death waiting to happen.