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Why do players/teams wait until well into the offseason to schedule surgeries? The player ends up missing valuable spring and preseason work where they could be rounding into playing shape and picking up new schemes. We've seen it before and now the latest example is Donovan Ezeiruaku, a young player who would benefit enormously from a full NFL offseason. – Rick Klotz/Boynton Beach, FL
Mickey: Well Rick, hate to tell you, but Donovan had his hip surgery backthe end of January, so there really was no waiting since the season didn't finish until the first week in January. I'm told he played through the labrum tear nearly the entire season. Which speaks to his toughness. Just because news of the surgery hadn't come out until right after the NFL Combine, doesn't mean the surgery just took place. Those hip surgeries take a while to recover from, but he will have a good six months to rehab and still be ready for the start of training camp. And in a lot of other cases, players try to rehab for a period of time hoping to avoid surgery. If you've ever had surgery, it's not like going in to get a flue shot. Serious business, and was reminded of that when they put me under to surgically repair my torn Achilles.
Tommy: I understand your question completely. My counter-question (if that's a term) would be, when else would they get them? Most of the time, those minor injuries that can be played through, players are going to play through. The offseason gives them plenty of time to get procedures done without the worry of having to hurry up in order to get back onto the field and allows them a chance to truly go through the entire recovery process. In most cases, these offseason surgeries are small cleanups that don't keep anyone sidelined too long. Sometimes, you'll have cases like Ezeiruaku's that take a bit longer, but at the end of the day it's what needs to get done and there isn't much you can do. The good news is he's expected to be back by training camp, which is the most important part of the offseason.
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