Tag: surgery

Leighton Vander Esch undergoes offseason neck surgery

The Cowboys’ middle linebacker missed the stretch of the season due to nerve issues.

There has been a cloud of mystery around the neck injury suffered by middle linebacker Leighton Vander Esch. What is known is that he missed the final seven games of the regular season due to it. Along the way, the Cowboys brass brought the discussion of whether or not it was a career-ending type of injury to the public, by proclaiming it wasn’t but indicating it had been discussed.

From there, it was a bunch of positive-yet-open-ended talk, the type that was last seen when the organization was discussing the recovery of fellow linebacker Jaylon Smith during the first year of his career. Now, there seems to be more concrete evidence of the severity of Vander Esch’s nerve issue ailment. According to ESPN’s Todd Archer, the second-year pro underwent surgery and the public prognosis is that he’ll be able to take part in the club’s offseason activities.

That still, of course, is very open ended. Technically, offseason activities span from the post-draft workouts to OTAs and minicamps, which wrap up in early-to-mid June. That’s about five months of recovery time.

With Dallas though, we’ve seen those proclamations also stretch into the summer and into training camp. The important takeaway from this is that the rest that they’ve giving him since October has not resulted in an improvement and now the club is looking to surgery to help the recovery.

The Cowboys drafted Vander Esch in the first round of the 2018 draft and he turned in a stellar performance as a rookie, earning a Pro Bowl nod and being second-team All-Pro. The Boise State product earned a cult following after being selected out of Boise State and earned the nickname the Wolf Hunter for his standout play and then he adopted a wolf call as his celebration.

Those celebrations were few and far between in 2019, though, as he played in just nine games and registered just 72 tackles.

With Sean Lee’s return up in the air and Joe Thomas a free agent, the club has little proven talent on the depth chart outside of Smith. If the team can’t be sure of Vander Esch’s status until after free agency and the draft, the club is likely going to have to make a move to shore up the position.

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Adrenaline ‘cuts the edge off’ for Jadeveon Clowney on game days

Seahawks defensive end Jadveon Clowney has been playing through the pain of a core injury but says the adrenaline helps him on game days.

Seattle Seahawks defensive end Jadveon Clowney has been playing through pain ever since he was recently diagnosed with a core injury. Although he has been able to suit up on game days, Clowney has been severely limited in practice during the week.

“It’s painful whenever you cough, you turn, you twist, lift your leg up. anything you do that involves your lower abs, when you’re moving and stuff,” Clowney told reporters Thursday. “It kind of hurts a lot but you just try to manage it as much as possible. Keep your reps down during the week and just put your foot on the gas on game day and just live with the outcome. Sometimes it gets worse sometimes it’s the same, so you just try to deal with it.”

Clowney opted to not undergo surgery with the hopes of finishing out the season. He was surprisingly able to log over 80% percent of the defensive snaps in Philadelphia against the Eagles. Clowney gets a little assist when he takes the field, courtesy of his adrenal glands.

“Yes. You feel it,” Clowney said of the pain. “Your adrenaline cuts the edge off of it though. Until you get done and you get ready to get on the plane. But it cuts the edge off when you get out there and get going. It’s the game, it’s part of the game. So, you don’t pay no attention, you just play with it.”

Clowney was listed as a full participant in the Seahawks walkthrough Friday and is expected to play Sunday in Green Bay.

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WATCH: Zion Williamson gives own injury update following first full practice

Zion Williamson is getting closer to taking the court in an NBA game for the first time.

Zion Williamson is getting closer to taking the court in an NBA game for the first time.

According to Will Guillory of The Athletic (and other local New Orleans reporters), the 2019 first overall draft pick went through a full practice Thursday for the first time since undergoing surgery in October.

Williamson suffered a torn right lateral meniscus, then was ruled out for 6 to 8 weeks after having the injury repaired on Oct. 21.

The Pelicans (11-23) admitted to being particularly cautious with their top selection’s health, but Zion began working his way into practices a few weeks ago and traveled with the team. On Dec. 28th, the Pelicans showed off Williamson’s progress by tweeting out a video of the rookie dunking pregame.

Head coach Alvin Gentry still would not set a firm date for the rookie’s NBA debut when the coach talked with reporters Thursday.

When asked about how he will know he’s ready to play again, Williamson himself said, “It’ll probably be one of those moments, like when it came to my college decision, I’ll (wake) up and I’ll know,” according to Guillory.

Lonzo Ball gave Zion Williamson the ultimate rookie treatment during return to practice

Welcome to the league, rook

We have still yet to see Zion Williamson play a minute of regular season basketball for the Pelicans after having surgery on a torn right lateral meniscus.

But it seems like we’re inching closer to Williamson’s debut, finally. The Pelicans tweeted a video of their number one pick at practice just shooting the ball around a bit.

Lonzo Ball made sure to give him a warm welcome back with a block on one of his jump shots. The ultimate troll. A quasi “welcome to the league, rook” moment — at least until he gets back on the basketball court for the real thing.

 

It’s still unclear when he’s coming back. The Pelicans initially ruled him out for six to eight weeks following surgery after October 22. It’s been a full eight weeks without Williamson in a Pelicans jersey, but he’s still not ready to play.

A couple of weeks ago it was reported that Williamson’s return would definitely come outside of that initial window, but it seems that things might be a little closer than we think.

That’s not strenuous activity by any means and he’s still probably a ways away from a return, but it’s still a good sign seeing him back on the basketball court. Hopefully, we won’t have to wait too much longer.

Marcus Davenport received second opinion, diagnosed with Lisfranc injury

New Orleans Saints defensive end Marcus Davenport was reportedly diagnosed with a Lisfranc injury after consulting with a specialist.

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New Orleans Saints fans were struck with bad news on Tuesday evening when it was reported that second-year defensive end Marcus Davenport suffered a serious foot injury during Sunday’s game against the San Francisco 49ers, and that the ailment was expected to require season-ending surgery.

On Wednesday, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport clarified that Davenport is dealing with a Lisfranc injury in his foot, which was diagnosed after he received a second opinion from Green Bay-based specialist Dr. Robert Anderson. Anderson performed the corrective surgery on Davenport’s turf toe injury after the 2018 season concluded, though it’s unclear whether he’ll be the doctor to treat Davenport after this Lisfranc issue.

So what is a Lisfranc injury? These issues strike the middle of the foot, hitting the long metatarsal bones that maintains the arch in the foot and allows people to push off and accelerate. It’s a painful condition that prevents those affected from putting weight on the injured foot, and is more common in football and rugby than, say, basketball or baseball.

The next question: how long will Davenport be out? According to a study completed before the 2018 NFL season, NFL athletes are typically sidelined for 10 months after surgery, give or take as much as three months. Every injury and every player is different, and their sample size was limited to 47 athletes (35 from football, and 12 from rugby). So some variance is to be expected.

It’s not realistic to expect the 6-foot-6, 265-pound Davenport to return as quickly as Baltimore Ravens rookie Marquise Brown, the 5-foot-9, 166-pound wide receiver who missed just seven months. A more comparable situation would be Washington Redskins defensive lineman Jonathan Allen (6-foot-3, 300 pounds), who went down with the same injury five weeks into his 2017 rookie season but returned in time for training camp — an absence of about eight months.

Davenport hasn’t had surgery yet, so there isn’t even a projected time table for his return in place. But precedent suggests he could miss a game or two to start the 2020 season, though things obviously could go better or worse depending on how his body responds to treatment.

Coincidentally, Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton spent most of the 2019 season trying to avoid surgery, but he went under the knife on Monday for an injury that’s comparable to what Davenport is experiencing. New York-based Dr. Martin O’Malley operated on Newton, and the Panthers don’t yet have any expectations of when Newton will be ready to play football again. His situation (and Davenport’s) illustrates just how common these kinds of injuries are in football, and how quickly things can escalate in such a physically-demanding game.

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Seahawks DE Ziggy Ansah limited to start week with shoulder stinger

Seattle Seahawks defensive end Ziggy Ansah began the work week limited in practice after suffering a shoulder stinger against the Vikings.

Seattle Seahawks defensive end Ziggy Ansah suffered a minor setback Monday night against the Minnesota Vikings. He was limited to start the practice week on Wednesday.

“He had a stinger in the game,” coach Pete Carroll told reporters. “Just got to make sure he’s okay.”

While the stinger impacts the same shoulder Ansah had operated on over the offseason, Carroll can’t be certain if there’s a correlation with the new injury.

Coming off a Monday night game, the Seahawks had a light practice on Wednesday consisting of only a walkthrough. While the participation report was estimated as though a full practice had taken place, it was at least encouraging Ansah was able to take the field.

“He looks like he’s doing okay so far,” Carroll said. “We won’t know for a couple days if he’s clear and all that.”

Defensive end Jadeveon Clowney was also listed as limited on Wednesday but is expected to play Week 14.

Ansah, Clowney and the rest of the Seahawks have a few more days to recover before heading down to Los Angeles to face the Rams Sunday night.

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Jadeveon Clowney will not undergo core muscle surgery for now

Seattle Seahawks defensive end Jadeveon Clowney will hold off on surgery for his core muscle injury and try to manage it this season.

Seattle Seahawks defensive end Jadeveon Clowney has been dealing with a nasty core muscle injury since the team’s Week 10 win over the San Francisco 49ers. Coach Pete Carroll has already gone on record stating that he is “counting on” the veteran edge rusher to play Monday night against the Minnesota Vikings.

Clowney told reporters before practice on Friday that his health is improving. “I’m feeling better,” he said via ESPN. “Getting ready to go today. See how it’s going to go.”

Carroll had said earlier in the week Clowney would not be undergoing surgery immediately and the defensive end plans on holding off on a procedure for now.

“Not at this moment, I don’t,” he said. “That’s a good thing. I ain’t too worried about it. I’m feeling better today. Worry about tomorrow when it gets here. Live for today.”

Clowney is aware that he will likely have to deal with his injury throughout the rest of the season and is determined to finish the year on a good note. He expressed the team is on board with his game plan.

“Oh yeah. They know that,” he said. “Something we know, but got to finish this thing strong.”

The Seahawks will likely need Clowney to be healthy if they want to make a strong postseason run, so fans will hope that he can manage it for the rest of the regular season and beyond.

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Should Tua Tagovailoa enter the 2020 NFL Draft?

Many believe Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has taken his last snaps in a Crimson Tide uniform, after injuring his hip in a contest against Mississippi State which resulted in season-ending surgery. The question that continues to loom is if he …

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Many believe Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has taken his last snaps in a Crimson Tide uniform, after injuring his hip in a contest against Mississippi State which resulted in season-ending surgery.

The question that continues to loom is if he should enter the 2020 NFL Draft and forego his senior season, or rehabilitate his injury and play one more year at the collegiate level before going pro.

Yahoo! Sports college football analyst, Pete Thamel, weighed in on what it would mean for Tagovailoa, financially, and the ramifications of his future decision.

Thamel explains that Tagovailoa was clearly one of the best quarterbacks eligible for the draft and probably the No. 1 overall pick.

With this season-ending injury, among other health issues he’s had in the last two years, teams may be thinking twice in 2020 about selecting him early.

“It’s very difficult, you don’t know what you’re drafting,” said a veteran NFL executive. “I see him maybe going toward the end of the first round.”

Being selected towards the end of the first round is still not bad, but having been projected to be the first player taken, it has to hurt your morale.

But there’s more than just morale involved, as Thamel goes on to explain.

The difference in the money from being the No. 1 overall pick to the No. 32 overall pick in the first round could cost Tagovailoa more the $25 million.

It is expected that his recovery could take upwards of six months. As Thamel explained in his piece, this would mean NFL teams won’t have the opportunity to see Tagovailoa before the draft.

This is a very heavy draft class when it comes to quarter backs.

Names like Joe Burrow, Jalen Hurts, Justin Herbert and others are expected to go in the first round.

This is also a very “quarter back friendly” draft. Many teams are either looking for their quick-fix at the position now, or they are seeking out the future signal caller for their franchise.

Should Tagovailoa decide to enter the draft now and leave his final year of eligibility behind, he will almost certainly not be the first quarterback taken, and will likely fall late in the first round, as the one senior NFL executive had claimed.

However, if he is looking for one more year to prepare and fully heal before entering the NFL, he could stay with Nick Saban at Alabama one more year and enter the less-crowded quarterback class of the 2021 NFL Draft.

There are a lot of concerns surrounding this decision, because if he goes pro now, then the question asked would be “Well, where would he be if he stayed one more year?”

If he stays at Alabama he runs the risk of furthering any of his current injuries and damaging his draft stock even more, or he may even not play at the same level he has been over the last two seasons, which could cause him to drop even further in the draft.

This is something Tagovailoa will have some time to think about and talk over with his family to see what the best course of action may be.

For now, all we can do is speculate and weigh the options visible to us.