Ben Obomanu is the latest in the line of Seahawk WR injuries. He broke his clavicle (collarbone) during the last preseason game against the Raiders. He likely has two options: surgery to repair it in hopes of returning before the end of the season, or go on the IR and let it heal with or without surgery. Depending on the severity and location, it is hard to know which is the better option. My "duh" suggestion, don't draft him in your fantasy league.
Bobby Engram continues to be out with a fractured shoulder. I have been unable to track down any further details about which part of the shoulder, but I suspect he might have a small humeral head (upper arm bone where it inserts into the shoulder socket) fracture since there have been no further details. These take time to heal, but he might be a guy you could grab and stash on your injured list until he returns after the bye week. He wants a big contract upgrade and there is only one way to do that... play, and play well.
Deion Branch continues to rehab from his torn ACL from last season's playoffs. It sounds like his rehab is going well, and with the lack of depth at WR, they will probably bring him back after about 6 weeks and hope for the best. His agility and quickness won't be back to normal until the end of the season though, so temper your expectations for this season and grab him off the waiver wire when he comes back.
All of this is going to put more pressure on Matt Hassled-by-my-back as well. The west coast offense relies on timing between the QB and his receivers. With all of these injuries, it might take awhile for the passing game to reach its full potential, and Matt has been known to get a little frustrated at times which affects his decision-making. He is a risky fantasy pick this season.
On with the season... (cue Monday Night Football music here)
J.J. Putz has Ulnar Neuritis
A couple quick things about J.J.'s elbow injury that has put him back on the DL:
- Basically, the nerve that runs on the inside of the elbow (ulnar nerve) has been rubbing over the bone on the inside of the elbow (aka, the "funny bone") and is now irritated (irritated and inflamed nerve = neuritis). The Mariners' doc mentioned that this was because of hyperextension... meaning that when his arm is coming through, his elbow is going back, or giving way, more than it should. The nerve can then slide more, or get pinched more as the arm comes back forward.
- I see a lot of patients with similar symptoms, but usually because of leaning on the inside of their elbows while typing on the computer or putting their arm on the door or armrest while driving.
- The key is to rest the elbow, let the inflammation calm down, and avoid re-injury. In J.J.'s case, he will rest until the pain subsides, then begin some stretching and rehab. He may get to wear a splint that keeps his elbow straight at night. Sometimes a cortisone injection can help decrease the inflammation if needed.
- As with any pitching injury, the question is why did this happen now? Could it be that he has a little more laxity (looseness) in his UCL as he has used his elbow to compensate for other probelms in his mechanics? (This is why pitchers may tingle before they "pop" their UCL... the UCL gets looser and looser until "pop"). Could it be that his rib injury threw off his mechanics and has thus put more strain on his elbow? His location has not been as great since the rib injury, so a very strong possibility.
Let's hope a little rest, strengthening and attention to his mechanics will help get J.J. back on the mound.
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