In the latest workout video he released on social media, it appeared that Tennessee Titans outside linebacker Bud Dupree was good to go — or at least very close to it — in his recovery from a torn ACL.
However, former Chargers team doctor and current OutKick contributor, Dr. David Chao, who is better known as Pro Football Doc, believes that based on the video, Dupree “is clearly nowhere near fully healthy yet.”
Chao pointed out that the Kentucky product was favoring his right knee while taking part in the drills in the video, something that might not be obvious to the average person.
Dupree is coming along nicely but appears a long way away still and he is clearly nowhere near fully healthy yet. He clearly favors his right knee and without going back to looking at published reports, that is clearly the side of injury.
In the squat jump video, he favors the right side and does not stand, squat, jump or land symmetrically. The left takes more load. In the brief cone drill, he favors the right side as well, especially at the end of the sprint. The findings are subtle and likely invisible to the average fan but having worked on the team side and with professional athletes it s clear to me.
With editing and selection, short clips like this can’t prove health (who would show a “bad” workout video). However, they can reveal deficiencies.
Bud Dupree’s knee looks fine to me 🤙🏼#Titans
🎥: (Bud’s IG) pic.twitter.com/SpGU2QO4Lo— Wes On Broadway (@TitansDraftTape) June 24, 2021
Chao also throws a bit of cold water on the idea that Dupree will be 100 percent when the 2021 season begins and believes it’s possible he could start out training camp on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list.
Don’t get me wrong. I am not saying that Dupree is recovering poorly or that the Titans shouldn’t have signed him. In fact, I think he will make a full recovery. My only point is that it is asking too much to expect him to be 100% for the start of this season. With the video and the timing of a December injury/surgery, there is no way he will be his dominant self for Week 1. In fact, he may start camp on PUP.
The good news in all of this is that Chao still likes what he sees from Dupree and expects him to make a full recovery. He also suggests that perhaps the Titans can deploy Dupree on the left side to start the season so he can “use his healthy leg to get around the edge.”
The last we heard from Dupree, he stated that everything was going well but noted that it was up to the team doctors in terms of how things would go moving forward, including when he can start practicing.
“I am recovering well, and I am on schedule,” Dupree said. “As far as when they’ll let me practice and stuff, it is really up to (trainers and doctors) to decide how they want to go forward with it. But on my end, I am doing pretty good and just taking it day by day.”
Dupree has said on multiple occasions this offseason that he expects to be a full-go for training camp. We’ll see if that comes to fruition, but Chao’s assessment certainly cooled the optimism for that happening.
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