Stephen Hill doesn’t need surgery
New York Jets wide receiver Stephen Hill (84) catches a pass against the Buffalo Bills at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
New York Jets second-year wide receiver Stephen Hill has a big offseason ahead of him, because the 2014 season will mark his third season in the league, which is a crucial time for an NFL player who has yet to impress. Hill will be regarded as a bust if he doesn’t step up, as the second-round pick out of Georgia Tech has been horrendous in his first two seasons in the league. Not only is he drop-prone, but he’s one of the worst route-running receivers in the NFL and is the model of inconsistency. He’s done nothing to help Geno Smith out this season, and he has just 45 receptions in 23 combined games in his first two seasons; those are horrible numbers.
Hill suffered a knee injury on the first day of December in a Week 13 game against the Miami Dolphins, and he was placed on the injured reserve nearly two weeks later. The knee injury capped off another disappointing season for him, and Rex Ryan was so frustrated with the slow-to-develop receiver that he even “called him out” a bit publicly.
According to ESPN New York’s Rich Cimini, Hill won’t need surgery on his knee in the offseason, and that’s good news indeed. There were initially worries that Hill would need some sort of a procedure to heal his ailing knee, but with this news he’ll be able to work out in the offseason without any issues. The lack of surgery ensures that he’ll be able to maximize his time to train and improve, and he certainly has a lot of things he needs to work on, especially with the mental aspects of the wide receiver position; he’s even more raw than we expected.