This new regime knows how to keep secrets! It appears nothing seems to escape the fortress that is One Bills Drive. This explains why news that WR Zay Jones underwent knee surgery last week which will force him out of the rest of spring practices. Today’s article will attempt to identify what the procedure may have been and explain the timing.
If you recall, Jones had a repair of the labrum in his shoulder which limited his production during his rookie season. Looking at a general protocol following a labral repair, Zay would be in the 3rd phase of his recovery by now according to the timeline as stated in January. By reaching this stage, he would demonstrate the strength required to adequately use crutches to assist in weight bearing following a knee surgery. This would explain why he is having knee surgery now at this time in the off-season rather than immediately such as most other players do. What this knee surgery also tells is us that his shoulder rehabilitation is progressing as expected and should be able to return to full health by the time the regular season rolls around.
As in most cases, we always want to know what type of procedure that the players have. While this is private information for both HIPPA and competitive reasons, I am still able to speculate the type of procedure. The information released is generally vague which indicates Jones escaped serious injury including ACL, MCL, severe meniscus tears, patellar fractures, etc. These types of injuries are almost always reported and would have ramifications regarding his availability for the season.
I believe this injury is related to the injury sustained during the Jets game during their 3 game slide in the middle of the season. If you recall, he hyperextended his right leg as the result of being tripped during a route run. He was later listed on the injury report with an ankle injury which may have bore the brunt of the injury acutely, but he may have suffered minor damage in the knee which may not have affected his production at the time.
Due to the hyperextension, Jones may have suffered a frayed meniscus that could have possibly caused pain, swelling, catching, occasional locking, and general discomfort. He may have also suffered from plica syndrome. This is a condition that is due to to irritated synovial membrane that may be the result of a meniscal tear, repetitive knee bending or straightening, blunt trauma or twisting, or altered knee motion. Both of these issues can be managed conservatively and addressed with physical therapy with effective results. Unfortunately, In Zay’s case, there was apparently not enough progress which warranted surgery.
There were some Twitter trolls who believe this surgery may have been related to his meltdown in Los Angeles in where he was in an altered mental state and attempted to kick through a window and jump out. I do not believe that to be the case as he would have suffered more superficial injuries to his foot, ankle, and lower leg which would have required immediate surgery compared to a scheduled surgery.
McDermott during his press conference noted that this was a procedure that he has needed, he had addressed it during rehab while addressing his shoulder, and that he miss only the spring session. According to the schedule, there are OTA’s until mandatory minicamp from June 12-14. This would give Jones about 4 weeks to recover in order to participate in some fashion, though it was made known he would likely miss minicamp. There is no timeline so in case there are any setbacks, he will not be held to any standard. The average time to recover is 4-6 weeks for both types of surgeries which fit the limited timeline that the Bills suggested missing the spring.
Either way, this is something that should not warrant any complications. It appears he is addressing his injuries, his shoulder is on track with rehabilitation, and looks as though he will be at full health come training camp. It is unfortunate that he has to deal with these issues, but sometimes, this is unavoidable.
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