A brief history of ACL injuries will make you a believer.
A few weeks ago on Twitter a notable Packers beat writer posted a clip from the coach’s film of Green Bay Packers’ right tackle Bryan Bulaga stuffing rushers coming after his quarterback to prove that despite the starting pass blocker’s history of injuries he is still an indispensable component to the offense.
Watching the clip, it was obvious the tweet was a sound assessment that any doubters in Packer Nation should consider before throwing in any of their own antithetical two cents.
My comment was neither confirming nor dissenting; I merely said I thought Bulaga would be ready Week 1. ACLs aren’t necessarily as crippling to the big guys as they are perceived to be to the skill positions.
The beat writer replied (the only time he has ever replied to my tweets) that he would be “shocked” if Bulaga would be healthy by then. “He tore it in November,” he said, the pixels on my smart phone screen flickering in disdain.
Well, guess what, melon farmer? On this previous Thursday, the first day of training camp, head coach Mike McCarthy said there’s no reason to fear that the starting right tackle wouldn’t be ready to perform in the first game of the regular season.
“The biggest thing with Bryan… I don’t think there’s any threat to be ready for the season,” McCarthy said. “I know [he is] champing to get out there in full mode.”
Sure enough, Bulaga was there, and he wanted to play, but the team doctors wanted him to wait another few weeks before letting him put on the pads and play, making for a full 9 months of recovery, the typical shortest stretch of time it takes a player to comeback from such an injury.
“Yeah, I’m disappointed…” Bulaga said. “(It’s) been a tough road rehabbing and getting back to this point and feeling really well at this point… but that’s part of the process and I’ve got to keep going.”
The 6’6″ behemoth went on to say that beyond just wanting to get back on the field with his team he was afraid of “babying” the injury, something he felt he did back in 2013 when he tore the ACL in his other knee which he indicated gave him reason to believe had prolonged the recovery process.
The news of Bulaga’s potential expedited return came as shock to virtually everyone in the media keeping an eye of the situation.
For months now every podcaster, radio host, beat writer, and sports bar waitress with a personal stake in the Packers may have found reason to have doubts about the receiving core or secondary assuaged, but concerns regarding the right side of the O-line lingered, festered, and turned the wrong shade of green-and-gold.
There might still be good cause to remain skeptical about who’s blocking for Rodgers when he runs out to his right, but a brief rundown of notable ACL recoveries in the recent past should make it clear that Bulaga starting Week 1 isn’t anything short of plausible.
One of the arguments you would have heard regarding the chances of Bulaga making it back by the start of the season would have had to do with his size. However, a fellow big fella that was able to make an even quicker turn around after an ACL injury is none other than Rob Gronkowski. Gronk went on injured reserve in 2013 after a Week 14 injury to his ACL and was able to start again Week 1 in 2014. Did his play fall off? Hard to say. The Patriots did win a Super Bowl that year.
The most noticeable short-term turn around after an ACL injury has to be Adrian Peterson. In 2011 he went on IR after a Week 16 injury and not only was able to start Week 1 in 2012, but even broke the all time Vikings rushing record that game. The rest of his season went above and beyond that. He was the 2012 league MVP, Offensive Player of the Year, won second place for Comeback Player of the Year behind Peyton Manning, made the pro-bowl, and was voted All-Pro. The Vikings went to the playoffs that year as a Wild Card after beating Green Bay, but then of course lost in the playoffs to the Packers (wah-wah).
If you’re wanting to remain skeptical because Gronk and Peterson were younger than Bulaga is (29) then may I submit to you Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Reggie Wayne who went down with an ACL injury in Week 7 of 2013 and was able to return Week 1 of 2014 at the age of 35. That’s just two weeks longer than Bulaga will have going into the 2018 season. According to ESPN, Wayne remained “just as productive… nearly as explosive” as he did before the injury. While his yards per catch did slightly drop from 13.5 to 12.7, his receptions per game actually jumped from 5.13 to 5.22. The Ol’ Gray Mare was still what she used to be.
So, don’t worry about Bulaga coming back to start in time for the prime time premiere against the Bears this season. He may have been asked to take a pay cut, but there’s a reason why the Packers didn’t draft a new right tackle this year. It’s because, despite all the authority the most renown analysts in the game imbue with their decrees by tweet, 9 months is plenty for a football player to get a healthy ACL.