Birkett thinking he should have delayed his mock until Friday…
As someone who has 6 titanium screws holding my neck together from 10 years of football causing degenerative disks, I would understand if this young man decided to never play football again.
The pain and quality of life loss in my adult years was not worth a State Championship ring.
If I could go back…I would have never played this game.
June of 2018 had surgery. They used a hand held surgical drill to put those screws in. I broke the 2 discs (C5, C6) while stretching in pain on my bedroom floor. I felt the pop and my arms went numb. I have permanent nerve damage in both my arms.
Yet I still love watching other people play this game. It’s crazy…
Is very unfortunate for the young man. To me it means we must strongly consider drafting a linebacker in our top 3 picks to be able to put some talent in our linebacker void that’s been there for years.
Yikes….
There’s a thread started regarding this, very unfortunate for the young man. Shocked they say he’ll be able to play after this surgery.
For me… this is a reminder of the injury risks for off ball LBs that take on a lot of collisions… and perhaps a cautionary reason NOT to select off the ball LBs too high in the draft.
I wouldn’t say I am against 1st round LBs if a team can get a TRUE stud, and I wouldn’t be opposed at all to either Dean or Lloyd with #32 or #34… but I am also completely OK with waiting until pick #66 as well.
Wow, one of the guys I thought was going to outplay his draft position. Praying this man just gets to live a normal life now.
Holy crap! I hope you find a decent quality of life, my man!
I would have played but I’m tiny.
God Bless you Brother, that looks extremely painful. There is so much luck involved when it comes to injuries.
I loved playing football so much, I miss it everyday at some point, mostly the friendships and camaraderie. Every time you strap on the pads, it could be your last time. It’s a dangerous game, I got one shoulder that is messed up for life, but I’d do it all again in a heartbeat.
Take care my friend.
Brutal Cyn
Not sure where you are recovery wise but these things are life altering
An old buddy of mine was in a car accident years ago
Walked away from it, not a large deal
He had no idea his life would never be the same
The uncomfortable back turned into a huge deal
Multiple operations doing this and that — goes over my head every time
5 - 10 years of chronic pain — takes its toll
He’s a tough guy and rolls with the punches but man …
Any time I hear about car accidents i think, yeah they’re alive but what awaits them
Even high school football is a bunch of mini car accidents
The hits are easier to absorb when you’re young but I’m amazed with any of these guys playing in their late 20’s — early 30’s
The thought that their bodies can still absorb that abuse?
Unbelievable
Actually I wonder if there’s ever been a study that tries to correlate years of football with chronic injury of all types — bet it’s a large majority
@Cynodon damn man, I’m sorry to hear that… all the best to you and I hope you find some sort of good pain relief. Again all the best man…
https://twitter.com/DrJesseMorse/status/1535321586546483200?s=20&t=wafgqEnFAHeFTGkRvJ9cgQ
Looks familiar—it really is a brutal game
That looks like a nope, for sure. Sorry bro, back stuff is never a 100% recovery it seems.
I feel your pain brother. I just had disc replacement for c3-c6. Lost the feeling in both arms and legs. The arms are mostly back to normal but walking is still difficult. If I had the chance I’d tell that kid not to play. It isn’t worth the price he’ll pay later in life.
I can’t believe the dude still wants to play. Yikes.
Sorry bud. Urgh. Not cool.
Sorry to hear about your reality… I only have a minor case compared to you…. disc space narrowing that causes isssues when I lay in just about any position and can’t sleep well…, and I can’t do lifting exercises above the head without muscle strains & spasms.
I posted about Damone Clark during the draft because of his neck… found it interesting that some were eager to draft him…