Trevor on playing with ross....

During the first week of the Jaguars' voluntary offseason program, Trevor Lawrence was asked about the prospect of playing with Justyn Ross once again.

"We had a great connection in college," Lawrence shared. "Obviously, our junior year, my last year, he wasn't able to play. And we missed him, having that threat on the outside and that playmaking ability. He's special, the way he can cut and all those things that he can do. Now it's been two years since I've played with him, so it's kinda hard to say; I don't really know what the development is. Obviously, I know he's a great player and all that, so I'd love to play with him if that ends up working out. Who knows what that'll be, but I think he's gonna do great wherever he ends up. But it would be nice to have a familiar face and pick back up where we left off."

Obviously it can be taken different ways but when I watched the presser I got the impression Trevor was being respectful to a former teammate rather than pounding the table to have him play here

When Trevor is doing a presser and starts saying "All those things" rather than being specific it reminds me of doug marrone when he'd say "things of that nature" when he was really uninterested in the topic lol. idk why.

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It really is and anyone who signs him is putting him at an unacceptable risk. It's sad for him but them's the breaks sometimes.

So has a doctor literally said playing football could put him at serious risk? I'm not familiar and it just seems odd that theres so many "experts" and personalities on twitter/TV talking about how shocked they are that he went undrafted.. I feel like if it was that cut and dry we would have heard it officially somewhere. I've heard nothing other than that he is injury prone outside of this board.

Yes, in this instance I have a source and the answer to your question is yes. Teams don't share their list of medical decisions with the media as that can damage draft strategy, but Ross flagged medically as an inordinate risk because of Klippel-Feil Syndrome and that's why he didn't get taken by anyone. His neck basically had disks that were congenitally fused from birth and that fusion pushes all the other disks out of alignment. The doc who did Ryan Shazier's surgery did a procedure that removed one of the other disks to create space for the fused ones and he eventually cleared Ross to play again, but there's a bunch of docs that don't agree that he should've. The other problems were Covid and a broken foot, but those are far less worrisome to an NFL executive than the neck thing. No one wants to be the guy who put him out there if he ends up paralyzed or worse.

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“An empty vessel makes the loudest sound, so they that have the least wit are the greatest babblers.”. - Plato

^^ sucks.

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Is Kevin Austin our next Allen Lazard? (Few inches shorter ofc).

You mean a middling receiver who has a few touchdowns playing with a future hall of famer?

I'd much rather he be the next Allen Hurns.

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So has a doctor literally said playing football could put him at serious risk? I'm not familiar and it just seems odd that theres so many "experts" and personalities on twitter/TV talking about how shocked they are that he went undrafted.. I feel like if it was that cut and dry we would have heard it officially somewhere. I've heard nothing other than that he is injury prone outside of this board.

Yes, in this instance I have a source and the answer to your question is yes. Teams don't share their list of medical decisions with the media as that can damage draft strategy, but Ross flagged medically as an inordinate risk because of Klippel-Feil Syndrome and that's why he didn't get taken by anyone. His neck basically had disks that were congenitally fused from birth and that fusion pushes all the other disks out of alignment. The doc who did Ryan Shazier's surgery did a procedure that removed one of the other disks to create space for the fused ones and he eventually cleared Ross to play again, but there's a bunch of docs that don't agree that he should've. The other problems were Covid and a broken foot, but those are far less worrisome to an NFL executive than the neck thing. No one wants to be the guy who put him out there if he ends up paralyzed or worse.

I honestly didn't realize how bad it was. He's willing to play though. He wants somebody to take a chance on him. I get the notion of not wanting to be the coach or personnel department that gives him that said chance and then he ends up ruined permanently for the rest of his life. 

Interesting. Poor kid man. To get this far to your dream only to have it swept away from you just like that. I know it's not the first time we've all heard that story and it certainly won't be the last. Still, bummer.

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"What do I know of cultured ways, the gilt, the craft and the lie? I, who was born in a naked land and bred in the open sky. The subtle tongue, the sophist guile, they fail when the broadswords sing; Rush in and die, dogs - I was a man before I was a king."

Is Kevin Austin our next Allen Lazard? (Few inches shorter ofc).

I sure hope not. Lazard is a bit bigger, but Austin is more athletic in every way.

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Yes, in this instance I have a source and the answer to your question is yes. Teams don't share their list of medical decisions with the media as that can damage draft strategy, but Ross flagged medically as an inordinate risk because of Klippel-Feil Syndrome and that's why he didn't get taken by anyone. His neck basically had disks that were congenitally fused from birth and that fusion pushes all the other disks out of alignment. The doc who did Ryan Shazier's surgery did a procedure that removed one of the other disks to create space for the fused ones and he eventually cleared Ross to play again, but there's a bunch of docs that don't agree that he should've. The other problems were Covid and a broken foot, but those are far less worrisome to an NFL executive than the neck thing. No one wants to be the guy who put him out there if he ends up paralyzed or worse.

I honestly didn't realize how bad it was. He's willing to play though. He wants somebody to take a chance on him. I get the notion of not wanting to be the coach or personnel department that gives him that said chance and then he ends up ruined permanently for the rest of his life. 

Interesting. Poor kid man. To get this far to your dream only to have it swept away from you just like that. I know it's not the first time we've all heard that story and it certainly won't be the last. Still, bummer.

Say la vie

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"If you always do what you've always done, You'll always get what you always got"

La vie

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I honestly didn't realize how bad it was. He's willing to play though. He wants somebody to take a chance on him. I get the notion of not wanting to be the coach or personnel department that gives him that said chance and then he ends up ruined permanently for the rest of his life. 

Interesting. Poor kid man. To get this far to your dream only to have it swept away from you just like that. I know it's not the first time we've all heard that story and it certainly won't be the last. Still, bummer.

Say la vie

Actually, it's "C'est la vie."

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Say la vie

Actually, it's "C'est la vie."

Not in my dialect, lol

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"If you always do what you've always done, You'll always get what you always got"

He’s gonna be our X receiver. Single best draft acquisition when all is said and done. Looking at highlights, I can see his QB wasn’t the best.

He who?  Austin?

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Worst to 1st.  Curse Reversed!

He’s gonna be our X receiver. Single best draft acquisition when all is said and done. Looking at highlights, I can see his QB wasn’t the best.

He who?  Austin?

I love the exuberance.  But every receiver that comes to the NFL was a really good college receiver.  I like Austin's highlights.  Let's see how he looks against an NFL secondary in camp.

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Fix the O-Line!

He who?  Austin?

I love the exuberance.  But every receiver that comes to the NFL was a really good college receiver.  I like Austin's highlights.  Let's see how he looks against an NFL secondary in camp.

I'm glad they got a prospect that fits the role we are lacking, but the odds a UDFA player ends up starting at X receiver as a rookie are insanely unfavorable. 

Hope he's a rare outlier, but I'm not terribly optimistic. Would be a wonderful surprise if he shines in camp and preseason enough to see the field as a rookie.

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Yes, in this instance I have a source and the answer to your question is yes. Teams don't share their list of medical decisions with the media as that can damage draft strategy, but Ross flagged medically as an inordinate risk because of Klippel-Feil Syndrome and that's why he didn't get taken by anyone. His neck basically had disks that were congenitally fused from birth and that fusion pushes all the other disks out of alignment. The doc who did Ryan Shazier's surgery did a procedure that removed one of the other disks to create space for the fused ones and he eventually cleared Ross to play again, but there's a bunch of docs that don't agree that he should've. The other problems were Covid and a broken foot, but those are far less worrisome to an NFL executive than the neck thing. No one wants to be the guy who put him out there if he ends up paralyzed or worse.

I honestly didn't realize how bad it was. He's willing to play though. He wants somebody to take a chance on him. I get the notion of not wanting to be the coach or personnel department that gives him that said chance and then he ends up ruined permanently for the rest of his life. 

Interesting. Poor kid man. To get this far to your dream only to have it swept away from you just like that. I know it's not the first time we've all heard that story and it certainly won't be the last. Still, bummer.

He probably has not come to terms with it or really understand the risk he would be facing. Patients with KFS can have temporary or even permanent paralysis from even minor accidents say from falling out of bed. Basically I doubt any NFL team would take a chance on playing him, and no sports team (from any other league) should.

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So, if it's that bad, he should not have been playing college football in the first place. I guess tlaw didnt know about it

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He who?  Austin?

I love the exuberance.  But every receiver that comes to the NFL was a really good college receiver.  I like Austin's highlights.  Let's see how he looks against an NFL secondary in camp.

Matt Jones wasn’t.

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“Motivation alone is not enough.  If you have an idiot and you motivate him,now you have a motivated idiot.” Jim Rohn

 

Kevin Austin - 39 inch vertical jump. For those that say we are all created equal .... that's just not true. My vertical jump is only 38 inches !!! Wait, I just remeasured an it's 38 millimeters.

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So, if it's that bad, he should not have been playing college football in the first place. I guess tlaw didnt know about it

Honestly every player takes a risk when they walk on the field, it's his life and if he's willing to take the risk to do what he loves that's his choice.

The Doctor that did his surgery believes he can play and it's safer for him now then it was before his surgery.

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So, if it's that bad, he should not have been playing college football in the first place. I guess tlaw didnt know about it

Honestly every player takes a risk when they walk on the field, it's his life and if he's willing to take the risk to do what he loves that's his choice.

The Doctor that did his surgery believes he can play and it's safer for him now then it was before his surgery.

Yeah, and it's our choice not to have a player die during a game.

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So, if it's that bad, he should not have been playing college football in the first place. I guess tlaw didnt know about it

Honestly every player takes a risk when they walk on the field, it's his life and if he's willing to take the risk to do what he loves that's his choice.

The Doctor that did his surgery believes he can play and it's safer for him now then it was before his surgery.

So a couple things. Yes it is a risk he can take, but coaches and doctors, especially in sports, are supposed to keep players health and best interests in mind. That is part of the issue with concussions where many players feel they can be back out there, but are held out.

The risk from KFS, is not so much from the fused bones itself. It is how the ligaments and the biomechanics develop around the spine as a person grows into an adult. Essentially the normal portions of the spine become hypermobile due altered stress patterns, and those are the ones that often dislodge more in person without KFS. So with a impactful injury, they push into the spine or nerves coming from the spine and injure them. 

From the limited released info about the surgery, they just removed a slipped disc and added stabilization/fusion hardware. That may have helped with the acute issues he had at the time, but there is no literature to say that would reduce or minimize his elevated risk going forward.

At best, his medical situation would be a "guinea pig" to see if this type of treatment and physical therapy can help patients with this in the future. However, there is no concrete medical evidence for that basis. It is based on the how the the experts believe the biomechanics should work. Anyone in medicine would tell you that we have a very limited understanding of spinal biomechanics. That is why any randomized study about surgery/treatments for back pain comes back as inconclusive, or repeated studies provide mixed results.

Even the surgeon who did the surgery noted that he still may not be able to play after the surgery, just that it would give him the best chance going forward. 

He want to Evel Knievel this situation. But the NFL wants no part of that, given that it look really bad for the league if he gets hurt in the current climate already worried about spinal injury risk for players without a pre-existing condition.

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