Word came out today that Terrell Suggs suffered a tear to his biceps tendon on Sunday. There are a couple of things to consider when deciding whether he can play through this injury or not:
1. Which tendon did he tear, long head or short head of the biceps tendon? Long head tear would be the more serious one as it is a larger participant in function and a greater force generator.
2. What is the severity of the tear? Tears of muscle are graded, so if you hear he suffered a grade 3 (near to complete tear), then he’s more than likely not playing through it. But a grade 1 or grade 2 tear can be played through depending on whether he can tolerate a pretty darn significant amount of pain.
3. What’s the likelihood of imparting further damage on the muscle? Location of the tear: musculotendinous junction (where the muscle blends into the tendon), osseotendinous junction (where the tendon attaches to bone), or somewhere in the muscle belly itself. After an MRI is done and location of the tear is found, they’ll determine the likelihood of him more seriously damaging the muscle.
So, as you can see, the results of the MRI and of his second opinion will go a long way in determining if Suggs will play through this injury. With the Ravens still in the thick of things and lock for the playoffs, you better believe if he gets the OK, he’ll probably be out there. Let’s wait until we hear more information before we rush to judgment.
Ziad Dahdul 