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INSIDE THE INJURY REPORT
Julio Jones | foot | out
Jones has a fracture in the same foot he injured shortly before the NFL combine in 2011. There are reports that the screw that was placed to fix that injury is broken, but that's not been confirmed by the team, nor have the reports that he'll have surgery next week and miss the rest of the season.
But both reports are plausible.
Though rehab from this surgery takes on average 12 weeks (range 10-16 weeks) to complete, the results of a case study by Jones' own doctor (Robert Anderson of the Carolina Foot and Ankle Institute) are very reassuring for athletes, including a number of football players, who need a revision of their earlier surgery. All eight players in the series returned to their former level of play within four months. None were reported to have complications or a subsequent injury.
You're likely to hear Jones' case compared to that of Ahmad Bradshaw, who has had multiple screw revisions and took much longer than expected to get out of a walking boot after his most recent surgery this offseason. But there are important differences. Bradshaw's initial injuries were stress fractures, injuries that aren't recognized right away and tougher to heal than an acute injury. Bradshaw also delayed his most recent surgery for a full 12 months, choosing a bone marrow injection only during the 2012 offseason rather than undergoing the screw revision recommended by Anderson. Neither will be an issue with Jones.
The most recent comp of a wide receiver suffering this kind of fracture was Hakeem Nicks last preseason. He returned to play within 14 weeks. There have been other ongoing knee issues with Nicks, but there's not been any indication that he's been limited by the foot injury.
There are no guarantees of course and any changes to the expected diagnosis may change my argument, but I think there's good reason to be optimistic for Jones in 2014.
Calvin Johnson | knee | DNP
Johnson did not practice today. Jim Schwartz was his usually charming and evasive self in the post-practice press conference, saying Johnson could play without practicing and that they may know more about his status anytime between tomorrow and Sunday morning. There has been -- and likely will not be -- any details on Johnson's diagnosis. I'd like to be more specific on Johnson but there's nothing here to go on. I don't see anything here to believe he has a long term condition, but consider Johnson a game-time decision and prepare to be without him again this week.
Rob Gronkowski | arm / back | questionable
Finally, a sliver of real information in the sea of vague answers given by Gronkowski and Bill Belichick over the past month. Gronkowski reportedly has requested an opinion from Dr. James Andrews before he deems himself ready to play. Andrews doesn't do back surgeries so this evaluation is likely a final blessing on the state of the arm that's been operated on four times in the past nine months. It's not likely that Gronkowski would have practiced in pads for a month and been taking contact for two weeks before this visit if he expected a negative response from Andrews. That, plus the always reliable Jay Glazer putting Gronkowski's likely return in Week 6 some time ago, storngly suggests that Gronkowski is expecting to return this week. Of course, don't assume he'll be on the field until he official says he's playing and he's on the active roster on gameday. When he returns, he's safe to use in your lineup immediately.
Roddy White | hamstring / ankle | bye week
White reportedly suffered a small setback in his recovery from a high ankle sprain in Week 4. He told reporters that he'd learned a lesson and that his body needed time to heal. Back on the field in Week 5 anyway, he may have finally suffered one of the injuries he has been at high risk for over the past month. There's no guarantee that the hamstring strain was a cascade injury related to the ankle sprain, but it's likely. White's hamstring strain had him on the sidelines for the most critical snaps in Atlanta's Monday night game and could reportedly result in a mutli-week absence. White will have the benefit on this week's bye to get treatment and heal but the early reports aren't promising. Unfortunately, it may still take some convincing to keep him off the field and end his consecutive games streak if he's not ready for Week 7. With luck, he won't sustain any additional injuries.
Michael Vick | hamstring | limited
Vick has told reporters that his hamstring has loosened considerably and he's moving better than he expected to be so soon after his strain. While it's possible that Vick could make a quick recovery and play this weekend, the initial reports that he would miss at least one week are likely to prove accurate. The Eagles want him healthy for back-to-back divisional matchups at home against Dallas and the New York Giants in Weeks 7 and 8. I'll be surprised if Nick Foles isn't under center this week.
C.J. Spiller | ankle | limited
Spiller looked like a player with a sprained ankle last week. He was able to reach top speed when moving in a straight line, but struggled to change directions and slow down from a sprint on his injured ankle. He was reportedly still moving with a limp today, nearly a week after his last game. Watch his practice participation for more optimistic signs, but he's likely to be a boom-bust play again this week.
Darren McFadden | hamstring | limited
Oakland beat writers posted video of McFadden in pads doing positional drills today. He wasn't moving full speed but that's the first hurdle McFadden needs to clear to return to play. It may make the most sense to allow McFadden to heal through the Raiders' Week 7 bye and give him an full four weeks to heal his low-mid grade strain. But if he's feeling strong enough to practice fully by the end of the week, they may let him go in a divisional matchup in Kansas City.
David Wilson | neck | DNP | out ***Thursday Night Football
Wilson has already been ruled out for this week's game. That's not surprising given the short four day turnaround, but he's very likely to miss more than Week 6. Wilson's injury mechanism (a hit to the side of the head and neck) and how he behaved just after his injury (kneeling and flexing his hand) are consistent with a stinger. Sometimes those symptoms resolve after a few minutes and there's no long term concern. When the symptoms are still there 24 hours later, as they were for Wilson, who was still experiencing some tingling the day after his injury, it becomes much more difficult to put a timetable on recovery. Today, there were reports that Wilson is seeking another opinion from Dr. Robert Watkins, whose performed cervical neck surgery on Peyton Manning, Rob Gronkowski and will soon work on Ahmad Bradshaw. That raises the possibility of a herniated disk, bone spurs and narrowing of the nerve opening near the spine. Wilson may choose to rehab from those conditions over the next couple of weeks. But, like Bradshaw, there's a sizable risk that he'll need surgery now or in the near future.
Martellus Bennett | knee | limited | questionable ***Thursday Night Football
According to Marc Trestman, Bennett will be a game-time decision tomorrow night. The Bears didn't practice this week, conducting only walkthroughs, so it's difficult to read much into the practice participation. If you're planning to use Bennett, make sure you're available to check the inactive list but most local observers feel he'll play his usual number of snaps.
Stevan Ridley | knee | limited
A Wednesday limited practice is an upgrade over last week, when Ridley didn't work at all. Local writers reported the injury as more of a thigh contusion than joint related last week, which is generally reassuring. A deep muscle bruise or bruise near the bone can keep the quad muscles from firing properly. That's something that a running back cannot play through, but it's something that often resolves within 7-10 days. Ridley's practice participation will be key here. I don't expect to see him practice fully -- the Patriots rarely ask their injured players to full practice while recovering -- but if he continues to put in limited practices he should be good to go in Week 6.
Percy Harvin | hip | PUP
Michael Crabtree | Achilles | PUP
Harvin continues to maintain that he's targeting Week 7 -- the first game after his first possible full week of practice -- as his return. The most recent update has Harvin starting to run last week. We're now nine weeks after his surgical procedure, which is the earliest players are released to run and began sports-related rehab after the kind of hip surgery Harvin had. So Harvin may be a week ahead of schedule. Those rehab protocols include a wide range of expectation at this stage. Some players are ready between weeks 10-12, others aren't ready until week 16 of their rehab. I still think 12 weeks is the likely sweet spot, especially now that we have an idea of where Harvin is in his rehab. That would put Week 9 or 10 on the table for Harvin as a possibility. We'll know more soon after Harvin is cleared to practice after Week 6.
On Monday, Jim Harbaugh said Crabtree was progressing well enough to be game ready by late November. But there's still some important rehab to be done and there's no indication that game-ready means Crabtree will be capable of his usual snap count and route tree or effective. Don't expect to see Crabtree in a meaningful fantasy role this year.
AROUND THE TRAINING TABLE
The Texans put Owen Daniels on the injured reserve / designated to return list this week with a fractured fibula. The original timetable was 4-6 weeks, but that, as always, was the most optimistic end of the timetable. Athough the fibula isn't the primary weight-bearing bone of the lower leg, it still needs at least six weeks to heal and that doesn't include every conditioning phase of rehab. Daniels will now miss a minimum of eight weeks.
Miles Austin is now running with his hamstring injury and could be back this week. There's been enough time for Austin to adequately recover from a low grade strain. But he's sensitive to aggravations and Terrence Williams could rotate in heavily. Wait until you see Austin healthy and effective with a good number of targets before trusting him.
Travis Kelce's knee injury took an interesting turn. Last week, Kelce told reporters that he had a bone bruise diagnosed during training camp. That was a mild red flag. Bone bruises usually heal more quickly than Kelce seemed to be healing, even those around a critical joint around the knee. This week, Kelce underwent arthroscopic surgery, where surgeons found a cartilage injury that necessitated microfracture. It won't be surprising to see Kelce go on injured reserve soon, as that's a procedure that takes months to recover from. The Chiefs are optimistic that Kelce will recover, but the jury will be out until we see him back on the practice field next year.
Follow on Twitter @JeneBramel for breaking injury news, updates and analysis. Check back Sunday morning for my expectations on Rob Gronkowski, Calvin Johnson, C.J. Spiller and this week's other game-time injury decisions.
