Post by motm on Jan 6, 2017 14:14:56 GMT -6
LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Pace asserted that he isn’t ready to write off cornerback Kyle Fuller, but that statement requires a gigantic leap of faith.
“I think we opened up that three-week window [after Fuller was designated to return from injured reserve] with the full expectation that by the end of that he would be ready to go,” Pace said Wednesday. “And he’s trying to get stronger and he is trying to do all of the little things right.
“I’m not giving up on Kyle Fuller. He was a high draft pick by this organization, and it’s on us to do everything we can to get him playing back at a top level. You guys know it’s a position of need for us and getting him back where he can play would be huge for this organization. So, he’s got to have an important, big offseason. He knows that.”
Here’s the problem.
Fuller, 24, just missed an entire year because of routine arthroscopic knee surgery performed in August. Professional football players have their knees scoped all the time, and while everyone’s body is different, the general recovery time after a scope is roughly a couple weeks – sometimes sooner.
Fuller sat out four months.
That unusual timetable doesn’t seem to mesh with coach John Fox’s philosophy that availability is just as important as ability.
Pace – perhaps in the quest to preserve Fuller’s trade value -- tried to explain the player’s lengthy absence, but none of it makes sense unless the former first-round pick is dealing with a serious or long-term knee injury, both of which Fuller has denied to reporters.
“There is a lot of things [that involve] strengthening areas around the knee,” Pace said. “Strengthening the small muscles around the knee and at his position especially, that is different than some other positions. You’ve got to have that twitch and that suddenness and that explosiveness, and he just didn’t feel like he had it and we didn’t feel like he had it either. There would be moments in practice, especially early on in practice, where he would look good and quick. I would go grab Coach and be like, ‘Hey, man, Kyle looks good.’ And by the end of practice he would fatigue a little bit.
“We’ve got to get him to a point where he is strong enough where that fatigue doesn’t occur. Because that can’t happen in a game obviously. Again, I haven’t given up on him. We’re going to surround him with everything we need to do this offseason and try to get him right.”
So, based on Pace’s comments, Fuller wasn’t in proper condition to play months after having a relatively minor (in football terms) procedure.
And we already know what defensive coordinator Vic Fangio thinks about Fuller.
“Any time a guy’s hurt, there’s three stages to getting him back on the field,” Fangio famously said about Fuller in December. “One is, you’ve got to get medical clearance. Two, the player’s got to say he’s ready to go and feels confident and he’s chomping at the bit to go play. And then the coaches get involved and see if he’s better than what the other choices are and if he really is back to being able to play. A has happened. B hasn’t, so C is a non-issue.”
The NFL league year begins on March 9. Best-case scenario for the Bears: Pace convinces another team to give him a late-round pick for Fuller.
Fuller's $1.74 million base salary in 2017 is guaranteed, but the Bears have until May to pick up the fifth year option on his contract.
Link: www.espn.com/blog/chicago-bears/post/_/id/4704746/bears-gm-ryan-pace-supportive-of-kyle-fuller-but-why
“I think we opened up that three-week window [after Fuller was designated to return from injured reserve] with the full expectation that by the end of that he would be ready to go,” Pace said Wednesday. “And he’s trying to get stronger and he is trying to do all of the little things right.
“I’m not giving up on Kyle Fuller. He was a high draft pick by this organization, and it’s on us to do everything we can to get him playing back at a top level. You guys know it’s a position of need for us and getting him back where he can play would be huge for this organization. So, he’s got to have an important, big offseason. He knows that.”
Here’s the problem.
Fuller, 24, just missed an entire year because of routine arthroscopic knee surgery performed in August. Professional football players have their knees scoped all the time, and while everyone’s body is different, the general recovery time after a scope is roughly a couple weeks – sometimes sooner.
Fuller sat out four months.
That unusual timetable doesn’t seem to mesh with coach John Fox’s philosophy that availability is just as important as ability.
Pace – perhaps in the quest to preserve Fuller’s trade value -- tried to explain the player’s lengthy absence, but none of it makes sense unless the former first-round pick is dealing with a serious or long-term knee injury, both of which Fuller has denied to reporters.
“There is a lot of things [that involve] strengthening areas around the knee,” Pace said. “Strengthening the small muscles around the knee and at his position especially, that is different than some other positions. You’ve got to have that twitch and that suddenness and that explosiveness, and he just didn’t feel like he had it and we didn’t feel like he had it either. There would be moments in practice, especially early on in practice, where he would look good and quick. I would go grab Coach and be like, ‘Hey, man, Kyle looks good.’ And by the end of practice he would fatigue a little bit.
“We’ve got to get him to a point where he is strong enough where that fatigue doesn’t occur. Because that can’t happen in a game obviously. Again, I haven’t given up on him. We’re going to surround him with everything we need to do this offseason and try to get him right.”
So, based on Pace’s comments, Fuller wasn’t in proper condition to play months after having a relatively minor (in football terms) procedure.
And we already know what defensive coordinator Vic Fangio thinks about Fuller.
“Any time a guy’s hurt, there’s three stages to getting him back on the field,” Fangio famously said about Fuller in December. “One is, you’ve got to get medical clearance. Two, the player’s got to say he’s ready to go and feels confident and he’s chomping at the bit to go play. And then the coaches get involved and see if he’s better than what the other choices are and if he really is back to being able to play. A has happened. B hasn’t, so C is a non-issue.”
The NFL league year begins on March 9. Best-case scenario for the Bears: Pace convinces another team to give him a late-round pick for Fuller.
Fuller's $1.74 million base salary in 2017 is guaranteed, but the Bears have until May to pick up the fifth year option on his contract.
Link: www.espn.com/blog/chicago-bears/post/_/id/4704746/bears-gm-ryan-pace-supportive-of-kyle-fuller-but-why
