Update on Waddle and his recovery

[RollTideMo]

There is always going to be an injury risk at any minute when playing sports. Just have to play with no fear of possibly getting reinjured. I'm not surprised by this one bit as I know Bama's training staff is one of the best in the country as they always seem to find a way to cut their athlete's injury recovery time in half. If we get into the playoffs, I'm 90% confident that Waddle will be back running his routes and hopefully lead us back to the promised land.

 

[TIDE-HSV]

I wonder how much it'll affect his speed, if he can come back...

 

[JayBama_in_PCOLA]

I wonder how much it'll affect his speed, if he can come back...

That’s my question, that and his cutting ability.

 

[AlistarWills]

I think initially its going to be how much pain can he tolerate and how much much does he trust it. We don't know exactly what kind of break it was and the exact location. I do trust that the medical staff at UA will do everything in their ability to get him back to 100% of what he was, using what ever tools at their disposal to make that happen.

That’s my question, that and his cutting ability.

 

[BamaMoon]

That’s my question, that and his cutting ability.

Having had some ankle problems I can relate. But my understanding (Dr. told me this when I had my problems) that an ankle "break" heals better/stronger than a bad sprain.

That said, I'm sure it will affect him, but I think the first thing that would return would be his straight line speed, but I'd guess his cutting ability might be impacted.

But if he returns, just having him in the slot with the potential to go deep or run the slant will be huge for the other receivers.

 

[CoolBreeze]

I wonder how much it'll affect his speed, if he can come back...

Yea, I just do not see how he can rebound so quickly even if he is cleared to play. Building confidence in a recovering injury takes time and not sure anyone could get back up to speed this quickly (pun intended).

 

[BJ4TIDE]

Jaylen Waddle is STILL a top 35 (statistically) WR. How many weeks has it been since he played?

 

[JayBama_in_PCOLA]

Jaylen Waddle is STILL a top 35 (statistically) WR. How many weeks has it been since he played?

You can thank Covid for some of that too.

 

[Alan92]

He should be rehabbing and preparing for the NFL draft. Take the 1st round money before you get injured again. That goes for any player in his position. You only get one chance in life to be a first round pick.

 

[CajunCrimson]

I wonder how much it'll affect his speed, if he can come back...

Mach 2 instead of Mach 3.

 

[BAMA 22 HEISMAN]

I'd rather have the playoffs come and he runs out of the tunnel completely surprising the competition. I hope anytime someone on the staff or players are asked if he can come back this season, they play dumb.

 

[KrAzY3]

He should be rehabbing and preparing for the NFL draft. Take the 1st round money before you get injured again. That goes for any player in his position. You only get one chance in life to be a first round pick.

That's not really true, not when you have eligibility left.

Also, I think people really overstate the risk injury poses to being drafted. Sure we've seen a few cases, but out of how many years of football? I can name a few people off the top of my head who had clear NFL careers either derailed or had their draft stock plummet due to injury.

The rest? I mean look at Tua, really the worst injury I can recall and Alabama quarterback having and he's drafted 5th. Look at Drake, a couple of major injuries, recovers, plays still gets drafted in the third round. This is a guy who never had 700 yards rushing in a season. Now he's 6th in the NFL in rushing and he's making 8 million a year.

I can really only name one skill player at Alabama off the top of my head whose career was ruined by injury and that's Prothro. In his case, it seems like it really wasn't handled as well as it could have and it was a total freak accident, not a normal football injury. Something freakish could happen anywhere though, one of the worst injuries this season was Trey getting hurt in a car crash. Alabama had a player shot once.

So... honestly this don't play because you might get hurt stuff, I don't think it's nearly the big deal some make it out to be.

 

[Alan92]

That's not really true, not when you have eligibility left.

Also, I think people really overstate the risk injury poses to being drafted. Sure we've seen a few cases, but out of how many years of football? I can name a few people off the top of my head who had clear NFL careers either derailed or had their draft stock plummet due to injury.

The rest? I mean look at Tua, really the worst injury I can recall and Alabama quarterback having and he's drafted 5th. Look at Drake, a couple of major injuries, recovers, plays still gets drafted in the third round. This is a guy who never had 700 yards rushing in a season. Now he's 6th in the NFL in rushing and he's making 8 million a year.

I can really only name one skill player at Alabama off the top of my head whose career was ruined by injury and that's Prothro. In his case, it seems like it really wasn't handled as well as it could have and it was a total freak accident, not a normal football injury. Something freakish could happen anywhere though, one of the worst injuries this season was Trey getting hurt in a car crash. Alabama had a player shot once.

So... honestly this don't play because you might get hurt stuff, I don't think it's nearly the big deal some make it out to be.

Comparing apples to oranges. NFL is QB starved and there was nothing wrong with Tua's arm. The NFL will take any decent QB higher than they should. That league revolves around that one position.

Waddle's draft stock is based largely on his speed and play making ability. He's all ready broke an ankle and no one knows if he'll ever be the same, yet. He can do what he wants but being set financially for your life > coming back to play a few college games.

 

[Tenntiderman]

Waddle and Pitts both back for Atlanta would be epic!

Get well boys!!!

I agree. Some of these young fellas love their programs and realize that their time at Bama or Florida is short. Their decision. Not mine. I get it either way.

 

[BamaInMo1]

Alan, Me thinks you didn't read Krazy's whole post........A large part of what attracted the NFL to TUA was the way he can move and run and not just because of his arm. As Krazy posted, you can get injuredd stepping off the sidewalk and as long as Waddle is healthy (ankle healed) he can play.

 

[Alan92]

Yeah it's his decision, but Tua himself admitted recently that he'll probably never back to his old self. It's not just physically it's mentally as well, as we've seen with Moses this year.

It made me very nervous to see Smith returning punts late in a blowout of Kentucky. Because we've had 2 years in a row where star players have gotten gruesomely injured. I understand that Saban plays starters on special teams but all it takes is one hit and the season can change for the whole team. I've had this attitude since the needless Brodie Croyle (04) and Tyrone Prothro (05) injuries.

 

[BamaInMo1]

But that one hit/accident can happen anywhere.
Krazy's point is that a career killing injury is rare.
It can happen on any play at any time so you can't just shelve yourself/a good player because you're afraid of getting injured.
If you're scared of getting injured just don't play sports.

 

[JustNeedMe81]

You know what? I just thought of something. Last year, we saw sneak preview of few players rehabbing, showing off zero gravity treadmill, etc.... I wonder if we'll see one with Waddle in next few weeks

 

[Isaiah 63:1]

I can really only name one skill player at Alabama off the top of my head whose career was ruined by injury and that's Prothro. In his case, it seems like it really wasn't handled as well as it could have and it was a total freak accident, not a normal football injury.

I’d add Kerry Goode to the uber-short list, but your point is well-taken...

 

[BJ4TIDE]

Waddle is STILL a top 45 WR, statistically, and hasn’t played in how many weeks?