Terrell Suggs’ Torn Biceps: Can He Play Through It??

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.

Week 7 Reactions

What an amazing weekend of games, with close games throughout the day that either came down to the last second or were decided in OT. I wanted to share some general musings and reactions from some of the games I watched this weekend in terms of guys coming back from injuries or suffering injuries during Sunday’s games.

• Hakeem Nicks looked pretty solid overall. He continues to be second fiddle at this point to Victor Cruz, but in terms of his foot, he didn’t show any signs of hobbling and wasn’t restricted by his knee issue as well. And he was targeted 10 times, which is a nice number, even though he only connected on 5. I think it’ll be more a matter of shaking off the rust from missing a few weeks, but he should be fine moving forward. I really think he’d be a great guy to target in trade discussions as his owners might be a little down on him. I think next week against the Cowboys will be a great test for him, but it seems like he’s getting close to fully healthy.
• Aaron Hernandez looked fantastic overall. I didn’t see any signs of setbacks or him hobbling around on that injured ankle throughout the game. He appears to be just a hint of a step slow coming out of his breaks, which is very common and normal following a high ankle sprain. Remember, he can go full bore this week against the Rams in London, then have the bye week to rest after 3 straight games played. I think he’ll be active in Week 8 against the Rams, but barring any setbacks, he’ll be 100% coming out of the bye.
• The Cowboys’ backfield is a mess. DeMarco Murray is slated for more tests this week to see how that injured foot is holding up. Felix Jones had to sit out the final two drives on Sunday after bruising his knee in the 4th. Phillip Tanner seems to be next in line, but it looks like the Cowboys are hopeful Murray can play this week against the Giants. I don’t think he’ll necessarily play this week, as I think it’s tough for an RB to bounce back that quickly from a sprained foot (I’m assuming it’s just a sprain, haven’t heard anything in the contrary). Jones, on the other hand, is what he is. He can’t stay healthy, and even when given a golden opportunity like this, can’t manage to stay on the field. I wouldn’t fault you for dropping him, because unless you absolutely have no other option, do you really feel comfortable with him as your RB2 or Flex option.
• Keep an eye on MJD’s foot injury. I thought it was funny that he hurt his foot, but they decided to tape his ankle and see if he could get back out there. Lo and behold, he couldn’t stay on the field and had to be carted off, possibly because he hurt his FOOT, not his ANKLE! MJD has already been ruled out for Week 8, so that much we know. However, Coach Mularkey gave no indication what exactly happened with the foot, just to say that the “midfoot” was involved. Could be joint, could be ligamentous, could be both. They haven’t ruled out a Lisfranc injury at this point, which would be worst case scenario (check out my previous post on Lisfranc Injuries https://ziaddahdul.wordpress.com/2012/10/09/lisfranc-injuries-what-they-are-and-why-we-care-about-them/). Beyond that, we won’t know until the exact diagnosis is given and the extent of the injury is made more aware. Obviously, Rashard Jennings is the pickup to replace MJD, but in all honesty, I’m not clamoring to get him because the Jags’ offense is a mess and they’re playing the Packers on the road, who’s defense is improving on a week to week basis.
• Ben Tate looked pretty solid coming back from a toe/foot sprain…until he developed a hamstring issue. Luckily for him, the Texans are on their bye week, so he’ll have plenty of time to rest. Watch him for any setbacks, but it’s a little disconcerting because the less Tate plays, the more Arian Foster gets beat up, which will make it difficult for him to last the entire season without developing his own nagging injury. Tate should be fine, but watch for any developments early next week.
• What did I tell you about Lance Moore?? He came back from that hamstring issue this week and didn’t look like he lost a step. With Jimmy Graham out, Drew Brees looked for his slot receiver a ton, which is something you’d expect when you lose a guy like Graham. The star TE should be back next week, so we’ll monitor how that affects Moore’s targets, but Brees clearly looks his way and with as many points as the Saints’ D gives up, there should be plenty to go around. Moore will definitely continue to be a part of the offense so long as he stays on the field.
• I was critical of Terrell Suggs’ return to action this week just 5 months after tearing his Achilles tendon and, although he had a good statistical game, he didn’t look right. He didn’t have any of his quick bursts off the line or that same power when barreling past linemen on passing downs. I think it was very admirable that he came back and tried to be that leader for the defensive unit, but at what risk? I think he’s going to play out the rest of the season looking like he’s clearly not 100%, which can have an effect on his ability to prepare for next season as well. Like I said before, I have seen it take as little as 6-7 months or as much as 10-11 months to come back from this injury, and those guys weren’t playing in the NFL. The demands on the body are so great for these elite athletes, I think it’s doing them a disservice to rush them back so quickly.
• Trent Richardson didn’t look right, and although reports said that he had no setbacks during the game, he clearly did not look like he was fully there. Rib injuries are tough, as they require quite a bit of pain tolerance and if you get hit/knocked down the wrong way at any point, it may make it difficult to focus/run hard that next time out. Monitor him week to week, but it should get easier for him to tolerate as each week wears on.

Setting Your Week 7 Lineup: Friday Injury News

Hakeem Nicks: Holy crap, he’s PROBABLE!! Nicks practiced again on Friday and looks to be ready to go this Sunday. I still think he’s going to have some rust and be somewhat limited since it’s both his foot and knee that he’s trying to bounce back from. However, look for him to get back involved in the offense, which decreases Domenik Hixon’s value this week. I think this is the time to get Nicks back in your lineup, especially with a very good matchup this week.

Ahmad Bradshaw: Bradshaw missed practice again on Friday and is officially listed as Questionable for Sunday’s game. I get scared anytime I hear Bradshaw and “foot” in the same sentence, as his foot issues have been well documented. I have a feeling he won’t play or won’t be productive if he does play, so I’d look for a fill in. Andre Brown is not a shoe in to play, so it may all fall on David Wilson, which can be a good or bad thing, depending on how you look at it. I think this development actually makes the Giants’ passing game that much more attractive this week. Look for Eli, Nicks, and Cruz to have big days.

Brandon Bolden: Hasn’t practiced all week with a knee injury. It’s hard to predict how a knee will respond during a game without getting him out there and practicing. (UPDATE: BOLDEN IS OUT THIS WEEK)All signs point to him not playing, so look for Danny Woodhead and Shane Vereen to split carries backing up Stevan Ridley. I actually like Woodhead a lot this week against the Jets, with his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield, as he will be named my SLEEPER O’ THE WEEK! (I swear to you, I’ll get one of these right at some point, so why not week 7?)

Jimmy Graham: Limited participant on Friday, which was expected. He’s officially Questionable, and although he seems like he has a good chance of suiting up on Sunday, there is some riskiness in that play. His mechanism of injury looked like it was similar to a high ankle sprain, although he did actually come back into the game after injuring the ankle. He wasn’t the same, but at least he was able to grit it out and still weight bear through the foot. He also had the luxury of a bye week right after, so he’s had adequate rest time. My hunch? He’ll play, but it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have a backup plan who plays at the same time, just in case.

Aaron Hernandez: He returned to practice on Friday after sitting out Thursday, so it’s looking more and more like yesterday’s missed practice was just a precaution after playing a decent amount of snaps on Sunday. The Jets’ D has been pretty kind to TEs this year and the Pats TE’s have always done well when lined up against the Jets’ LBs. I think Hernandez is in line to get closer to a regular amount of snaps this week, so use him as you normally would.

Terrell Suggs: So, he’s practiced three straight days, including Friday, which is looking better and better for Suggs’ return to the lineup. I’m going to preface all this by saying that an Achilles tendon rupture is a BRUTAL injury to come back from for the average person, let alone an elite athlete like Suggs. Add to that fact that he partially tore it, which can be worse than fully tearing it sometimes depending on how much of a partial tear it was, and the odds are definitely stacked against him. The reason a partial tear can be worse is that if >50% of the tendon is torn, but some fibers are still attached, the surgeons typically opt to repair the torn fibers and keep the intact ones as they are. The problem is that the intact fibers end up picking up so much of the slack that they have greater than normal forces imparted on them, essentially weakening the area that was originally strong. In addition, the rehab process can last longer because you’re dealing with half intact and half torn regions of the same tendon, which can make the healing process a bit trickier.

I understand the reasons he’s pushing so hard to come back, especially now with Ray Lewis and Ladarius Webb out for the season, and it’s very admirable. Typically, it’s anywhere from 8-9 months before someone can really be back to every day life without limitation, and Suggs is only 5+ months post surgery. I think he’s rushing, and I can’t imagine the training staff would let him come back this fast. I think he should be out until at least mid November at the earliest (I’ll give him 1-2 month leeway since he’s a such a freakish athlete), so don’t expect him to be the huge game-changer he has been in the past, at least right off the bat. I think the Baltimore D/ST will still struggle without Lewis and Webb, putting them more in the 10-12 range.

Christian Ponder: Apparently he’s just been dealing with a sore knee the last few weeks. He was a full participant today and is listed as Probable. He hasn’t looked limited during games, so this could be more of a precautionary thing by letting him rest Wed/Thu and then having a full practice Friday. Use him as you would.

Rashard Mendenhall: He didn’t practice Friday and reports came out that said he will NOT play Sunday night. Look for Jonathan Dwyer to get the majority of carries with Baron Batch contributing as well. This will probably be a “play the hot hand” type of scenario.

Adrian Peterson: He’s been dealing with a sore ankle all week, which is on the same side as his ACL reconstruction. He was a full participant in practice today and is listed as Probable. Reports said he looked ok during practice, moving around just fine. Make sure you watch for any news of a setback between now and kickoff, but he appears to be ready to go.

Vincent Jackson: Jackson is dealing with a calf strain, which seems to have worked it’s way out as he practiced fully today and was listed as Probable. Looks like it’s all systems go for Jackson, who is coming off a solid week and should benefit from Josh Freeman getting his head out of his you-know-what and finally having a productive day. And they’re playing the Saints, who haven’t decided whether they want to play defense or not this year.

Greg Jennings: What a nightmare, huh? So he’s officialy OUT again this week, as he seems to be having such a hard time shaking this groin strain. It’s getting to the point where you may need to think about parlaying some depth at other positions into some wideout help because there’s not even a guarantee he plays in week 8. Maybe targeting a WR2 type guy to help pick up the slack or trading an RB1/WR1/QB1 for two quality guys would be a good idea for the near future.

Wes Welker/Rob Gronkowski: Do I still need to say anything? They’ll both play, and I’m throwing in a little prediction here too: both will have 100+ yards and 1 TD each.

Jermichael Finley: Officially listed as probable, he looks like he’s ready to go. I still doubt he’s 100%, but word from practice is that this is the closest to 100% he’s been in a while. I think he’ll have a good game finally, especially with Jennings out this week and with a pretty good match up. I’d put him in the lineup this week.

Pierre Garcon: He had a setback during the week and has missed practices all week. He’s listed as doubtful, but I can tell you with certainty that he shouldn’t be in your line up this week. Find a fill in for him. Leonard Hankerson and Santana Moss stocks should go up.

Dez Bryant: He was fully healthy all week and managed to pop up onto the Friday injury report, as reports are he strained his groin muscle (see my previous posts related to Greg Jennings for more info on this injury). Hip muscle strains are tricky in general and when a muscle group like the hip adductors (groin) are injured, it changes things as this muscle group helps pull the leg towards to middle of your body and is a stabilizing muscle during quick, dynamic motions. And it’s NEVER a good sign when this type of thing happens the Friday before a game. I’m a little iffy on him for this week, so try your best to pick up Kevin Ogletree if he’s still out there. Looks like a gametime decision deal for Bryant this week, so have contingency plans just in case.