Jermichael Finley set to be medically cleared in 3-4 weeks
Green Bay Packers tight end Jermichael Finley (88) stiff arms Baltimore Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs (55) at M
Green Bay Packers tight end Jermichael Finley suffered some incredibly serious injuries this past season, as he suffered a gruesome concussion in Week 3 against the Cincinnati Bengals and needed single-fusion surgery on C-3 and C-4 vertebrae after suffering a severe neck injury in Week 7 against the Cleveland Browns. Finely’s injury was so bad that some, including former Packers tight end Mark Chmura, thought he would end up retiring, but that isn’t the case.
Not only does Finely have no intention of retiring despite the awful neck injury and previous concussions, but Pro Football Talk reports that the star TE’s doctor is “99.9 percent” sure that Finley will be cleared for contact in 3-4 weeks. That’s a stunning development, and it’s excellent news for both the Packers and one of the league’s best pass-catching tight ends.
It’s great to hear that Finley’s career isn’t over, and we can only hope that he can continue to be healthy. The Packers have some intriguing pass-catching TEs behind Finely worth developing, but none of them are as good as the 26-year-old Texas product, nor have they shown nearly as much productivity in this league as him. He was poised for a big 2013 season before going down in Week 7, and hopefully he can have a great 2014 campaign.
Finley is set to hit free agency this offseason and has no intentions of giving the Packers a “discount” even after his near-career-ending injury, but he’ll certainly realize that he will need to tone down his expectations despite his talent.