Following
Dwight Freeney's Lisfranc injury that ended his season, I noticed that a
question was asked in the fan forum about other players who have had this kind
of injury – and whether or not they came back from it.
While Lions running back Kevin Jones is probably the most noteworthy example of someone who bounced back in recent years, a former Colt suffered a
Lisfranc injury that ended his pro career. Offensive lineman Makoa Freitas
was lost for the 2005 season after he sustained the injury, but expected to return after a six-month rehab
period. So did the Colts, who initially re-signed him to a free agent contract
while he was still recovering.
Here's a snip from my January, 2006 ColtPower Insiders interview with
Freitas:
Ed Thompson: Tell us a bit about what's involved with your rehab.
Makoa Freitas: Basically, it's a six-month long rehab. They went in, reattached the
ligament, put in two screws. And then in two to four months — for me it's four
months — which will be in January, they'll take the screws out (surgically).
Then we wait for the holes to fill up, and then I can start the rehab.
Thompson: What's the prognosis for the future? Is this something the
doctors are saying you'll be susceptible to because of the repeated damage to
it?
Freitas: The doctor's not really sure. I don't think he's ever seen someone
do it twice. So we're really not sure what's going to happen, but that's why
we're being real cautious about the rehab. But so far, so good.
Freitas never returned to pro football. One big difference for him, though,
was that it was his second Lisfranc injury. He had surgery for the injury once in college, but came back well enough from that one to sign an NFL contract.
Apologies are in order
I have to be honest. I haven't been high on offensive tackle Michael Toudouze
since his first training camp. When Charlie Johnson made the roster last year
and Toudouze didn't, it at minimum projected that he wasn't picking up either
the playbook or the technique quickly enough.
But I have to join the ranks of folks who were impressed by how he handled
himself against the Chargers last Sunday night, especially with limited
opportunity to practice since he was called up from the practice squad days
before he found himself in the thick of the action.
Well done, Michael. I hope you stick this time.
Message sent?
During the offseason, the Colts didn't exactly go out of their way to keep
wide receiver Aaron Moorehead from signing with other teams as an unrestricted
free agent. Fortunately for both Moorehead and the Colts, things worked out okay
eventually and he was back on board under a one-year deal.
But after Moorehead wasn't able to pull in a deep pass last Sunday night —
partly due to his arm getting grabbed at the last second by the Chargers'
defender — Colts president Bill Polian sent a message during his weekly
interview at Colts.com. After initially acknowledging that there was likely
cause for a pass interference call by the book, he qualified his statement a
bit.
"Having said that, the ball needs to be caught," he said. "He wasn’t interfered
with enough to make a difference, that’s for sure. The ball should have been
caught. It was right down the stovepipe and that’s the way it is.
"You either
do or you don’t in this business."
The tall and highly likeable wide receiver provides a big target for Peyton Manning, but based on that last sentence, I don't expect to see Polian put forth
any more effort to re-sign Moorehead at the end of this season than he did
earlier this year unless Moorehead steps it up in a big way down the stretch.
Draft Blast from the Past
I ran across this piece of draft history the other day and thought you'd get a kick out of it.
Right after the NFL Scouting Combine back in 2001, Mel Kiper projected wide
receiver Reggie Wayne would be selected at No. 29 overall by the Tennessee Titans. He wrote, "Wayne may lack
impressive 40-speed, but he's a skilled route-runner with the best hands of any
wideout in the draft."
Who did Kiper think the Colts would pick at No. 22? DT Damione Lewis out of
the University of Miami.
"Remember, had it not been for a toe injury in his right foot that
hampered him much of the season, you would have likely seen Lewis figuring in
the top 10 to 15 overall," he said.
Lewis didn't last until No. 22. The Rams snatched him up with the 12th pick
overall in the first round, one pick before the Jaguars selected Marcus Stroud.
After spending five years in St. Louis, Lewis is in his second season with the
Panthers. The 6-foot-2, 301-pound lineman has started just 32 times out of 94
game appearances, never starting more than ten games in a season. He has 17.5
career sacks, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.
I'd say the Colts got the better value, especially in light of the fact that
they picked Wayne up ten picks after the Rams. And I sure wouldn't have looked
forward to seeing Wayne line up twice a season against the Colts secondary as a
member of the Tennessee Titans.
Ed Thompson's player interviews and NFL features
are published across the Scout.com network and are syndicated through
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through this link.