Rams update: 5-month recovery for Saffold after surgery

[RamBill]

Rams update: 5-month recovery for Saffold after surgery
• By Jim Thomas

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_c6d9d69e-ffec-5557-ad82-e076c7ecf201.html

Rams offensive lineman Rodger Saffold underwent surgery Wednesday in New York City to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder.

"Everything went well," said Saffold's agent, Alan Herman. "He feels fine. Unfortunately, he misses the season."

Dr. Frank Cordasco of the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York performed the surgery. Cordasco also performed surgery on Saffold's left shoulder on Jan. 7.

Herman said the tear in Saffold's right shoulder was more significant than the previous tear in his left shoulder, which is why both Rams doctors and Cordasco recommended surgery as a soon as possible for this latest injury.

Saffold played through the entire 2014 season with the injury to his left shoulder, wearing a harness. But the tear was such to the right shoulder that doctors felt Saffold couldn't play with a harness this year, according to Herman, or at least play effectively.

Saffold should be healthy from this latest surgery in five months — or by mid March. He suffered the right shoulder injury blocking early in the team's Oct. 11 game at Green Bay. He will be replaced in the starting lineup by Garrett Reynolds.

 

[ztoben]

Ugh...

 

[LACHAMP46]

SHOULD be back for OTA's

 

[LesBaker]

Anyone have details on his contract/cap hit?

I like Roger and all but he's costing a lot but not playing a lot.

 

[Legatron4]

Wow. 5 months? Do they have to tear his arm off? I had shoulder surgery and was only out for a month. The eff Rodger.

 

[Selassie I]

Don't these surgeries result in the shoulders being stronger than a natural shoulder? I thought I read something like that back when we were all researching Bradford's. Maybe he'll be better than new???

 

[bwdenverram]

He's going to be the 6 million dollar Saffold with all these surgeries.

 

[Stel]

If on roster, $5 mil cash paid, $6 mil cap hit. If cut early, $3 mil cap hit (3 years of prorated signing bonus). His $4.5 mil salary for 2016 becomes guaranteed on the third day of the league year.

 

[DCH]

What in God's name is wrong with his shoulders? If you have to have both shoulders reconstructed, is it safe to assume something is just wrong with the way you grew?

 

[JonRam99]

What in God's name is wrong with his shoulders? If you have to have both shoulders reconstructed, is it safe to assume something is just wrong with the way you grew?

Saffold is an extreme heavy lifter, extremely strong but it puts a lot of stress on his shoulder when he uses his strength vs. uses technique. I think.

 

[JonRam99]

What in God's name is wrong with his shoulders? If you have to have both shoulders reconstructed, is it safe to assume something is just wrong with the way you grew?

Saffold is an extreme heavy lifter, extremely strong but it puts a lot of stress on his shoulder when he uses his strength vs. uses technique. I think.

 

[DR RAM]

There is a chain reaction in your body, once you have one injury...your body, unconsciously, compensates, which puts stress on other area's of your body, and most commonly, opposite, or related muscles.

Some people are just genetically, more fragile than others, and, or less flexible. Weight, as mentioned, will put extra stress on every joint, or tendon.

It's very safe to say that Saffold is injury prone, at this point, if not before, it's a term that I don't like throwing around.

I feel for Rams Nation, and Mr. Saffold, the dude can play, and he helped us. He has sacrificed his body for us. He has my sympathy, and respect.

 

[Debacled]

Don't these surgeries result in the shoulders being stronger than a natural shoulder? I thought I read something like that back when we were all researching Bradford's. Maybe he'll be better than new???

Different injury. Bradford tore up his AC joint which connects the clavicle to the scapula (shoulder blade). Saffold tore his labrum, essentially the "cup" that the arm sits in on the shoulder.

Long story short, dislocation with a tear. Mobile joints such as the shoulder tend to get looser after each injury. Doesn't help that its the most mobile joint in the body to begin with.

Doesn't matter how strong the dude is, chances are he tends to have somewhat looser joints than others which leads to more frequent dislocations and the likes.

The fact that he has done it to both sides (this occurrence sounds to be more damaging) speaks volumes, and it isn't good.

 

[Amitar]

SHOULD be back for OTA's

Hope not. Cut him now. It's obvious he can't stay healthy so he is not an asset to the team.

 

[Memento]

There is a chain reaction in your body, once you have one injury...your body, unconsciously, compensates, which puts stress on other area's of your body, and most commonly, opposite, or related muscles.

Some people are just genetically, more fragile than others, and, or less flexible. Weight, as mentioned, will put extra stress on every joint, or tendon.

It's very safe to say that Saffold is injury prone, at this point, if not before, it's a term that I don't like throwing around.

I feel for Rams Nation, and Mr. Saffold, the dude can play, and he helped us. He has sacrificed his body for us. He has my sympathy, and respect.

Yeah, I feel for the guy. It's not like he wants to be injured. He is, unfortunately, not built to withstand an NFL season. But he's played hurt a lot, and he has my respect for that.

 

[Legatron4]

Hope not. Cut him now. It's obvious he can't stay healthy so he is not an asset to the team.

You can't cut an injured player.

 

[BonifayRam]

Hope not. Cut him now. It's obvious he can't stay healthy so he is not an asset to the team.

Would there not be a big need for a known versatile veteran reserve OL'er on this team next season? I fully agree with you Amitar RS has proven very soundly that he can not remain healthy & produce good work on game day. RS is sure not an asset to this team currently. Nor has he produced on game day as expected when the rams signed him in 2014.

RS is the 5th highest paid player on this Ram team...& the highest paid OL'er too. This is sure to figure into the decision next yr to continue to pay RS such a high rate & get very little in return. Rams will have paid him 8.25 mil for this 2015 season. Tell me what did they get for that $$$ and did they get their moneys worth? This latest surgery & IR event has left this Ram team with four reserve OL'ers all with ZERO NFL game experience. If Garrett was to go down our most experience NFL game OL'er will be Greg Robinson who just had his birthday Wednesday is 23 yrs old with 17 started NFL: games. YIKES:eek:


Rams have very little % of their cap invested now in this OL. It would depend on how cap strapped this team will be after signing all those Ram free agents early next yr.
http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/st.-louis-rams/rodger-saffold/

RS is due approx 6 mil next yr. RS signed this contract early in 2014 and is yet to play a regular season game fully healthy. I would argue that sure RS played in all 16 games last season his first since his rookie 2010 season. But he was damaged degraded goods on the field the entire 2014 season.
http://www.footballdb.com/players/rodger-saffold-safforo01

Next yr RS will be entering his 7th season as a pro. With only one rookie season of positive full health in his resume. His past work history with this team will be stamped with a very big + next to his name. Looks like the Rams are on tap to pay him 6 mil in 2016 with 3 mil in dead cash in the toilet if released. I said it several times in posts since his injury that my best plan for this damaged high cost very low dependability OL'er is ......to be the top plug in reserve swing OT/OG on game day. That would be the best I could plan for in 2016.

Has anyone dug up his history of injuries & surgeries since 2010? Trust me its a very long long list. History of a bad back, both knees, neck & now two back to back surgically reconstructed shoulders? Would you consider it be foolish to plan for RS to be our starting OG next season?

 

[fearsomefour]

Would the $3M in cap savings be worth not having him on the roster?
I don't know given our lack of experience on the O line.
To me, Britt is an easy exist ($4M+ cap savings) and Cook ($5M+ cap savings) close behind.
Of course, things can change.
His injury in unfortunate for everyone involved. With Barnes a FA and Reynolds as well that money may be better served bringing those guys back.
With Britt and Cook freeing up $9M in cap space letting those guys walk to keep both JJ and Tru (and Barron) is an easy choice for me.

 

[RaminExile]

There is a chain reaction in your body, once you have one injury...your body, unconsciously, compensates, which puts stress on other area's of your body, and most commonly, opposite, or related muscles.

Some people are just genetically, more fragile than others, and, or less flexible. Weight, as mentioned, will put extra stress on every joint, or tendon.

It's very safe to say that Saffold is injury prone, at this point, if not before, it's a term that I don't like throwing around.

I feel for Rams Nation, and Mr. Saffold, the dude can play, and he helped us. He has sacrificed his body for us. He has my sympathy, and respect.

This is so true, and sometimes it starts with something little. As a little interesting aside, I remember a European soccer player a few years back kept having lower back trouble and hamstring injuries. Eventually they figured out it was because one of his teeth was a millimeter too long or something like that. It meant that when in a resting state his jaw was locked more tightly than it should, leading to the muscles on the left side of his neck being too tight. This in turn meant his back muscles were too tight and then his hip and so on all the way down to the hamstring. It all went away when they shaved the excess length off the tooth.

Back on topic it feels like Saffold's played his last snap for the Rams. The guy is just always hurt. You can't rely on him and pay him $6m because you can be almost certain that he's going to go down hurt again and this will disrupt the line, and stop you bringing in a replacement who can stay healthy even if he's not as talented as Rodger because you hang on to the hope that he'll be ok. That's why even a $3 saving in the cap hit might be worth it - just to mentally say "Ok we're moving on" and get a new starting quality guy in.

 

[fearsomefour]

There is a chain reaction in your body, once you have one injury...your body, unconsciously, compensates, which puts stress on other area's of your body, and most commonly, opposite, or related muscles.

Some people are just genetically, more fragile than others, and, or less flexible. Weight, as mentioned, will put extra stress on every joint, or tendon.

It's very safe to say that Saffold is injury prone, at this point, if not before, it's a term that I don't like throwing around.

I feel for Rams Nation, and Mr. Saffold, the dude can play, and he helped us. He has sacrificed his body for us. He has my sympathy, and respect.

I agree.
I like Saffold as a player and he has been a good team guy, moving all over the line.
His potential at G is high. The Raiders look a little smarter today than a year ago.
However, while I hate to see anyone injured, I feel much worse for a guy who has not had the chance to cash in get a serious injury.
Saffold is guarenteed $11M in this contract. Would I trade a painful injury, surgery and month of difficult rehab for $11M? Of course. Of course, things don't exist in a vacuum. He may very well be one of those guys with serious lingering issues after his playing days are over. A smart agent has got to get his player guaranteed money.