Injury luck tends to come and go over the course of a typical NFL season, and it seems to be returning for the Denver Broncos after a tough first half that stretched their offensive line and running back depth to the breaking point.
The news was about running back J.K. Dobbins, who was originally projected to be out for the season with a foot injury, and it has now been revealed that he underwent surgery for a Lisfranc injury.
According to a report written by Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk, though, Dobbins could be back in time for the playoffs. Improbably, it was coach Sean Payton himself who offered up the possibility that Dobbins could return.
“It wouldn’t be soon, but that has a chance to happen,” Payton said, via Parker Gabriel of The Denver Post. The projection has Dobbins possibly returned in time for the playoffs.
This sounds like a Payton smoke screen, based on the medical parameters for recovery for this kind of injury. It usually takes 6-8 weeks in a walking boot after surgery, followed by several weeks of weight-bearing rehab, and a full recovery usually takes six months to a year, sometimes longer.
Playing football in January would make Dobbins a miraculous healers, although top-level athletes have pulled off this sort of thing before.
There’s also the issue of Dobbins upcoming free agency to deal with—he’s 26, and given the typical career timeline for an NFL running back, this could be his last chance at a decent contract. But he’d need to show a full return to health for an injury that often slows even premier athletes for several seasons, and Dobbins’ game is all about speed and the ability to make quick, decisive cuts.
NFL coaches often make thees kinds of comments with injuries, however. Payton wants potential playoff opponents spending time preparing for a Broncos lineup with Dobbins intact, even if that’s close to physically impossible. It's actually somewhat surprising that the Broncos haven't signed a big back who can run inside from another team's practice squad, but Payton may want to see what the running game looks like after several weeks of work without Dobbins in the lineup.
He also wants to charge up the fan base. The Broncos gutted out a 22-19 win against the Kansas City Chiefs in their first full game without Dobbins, and Denver basically didn’t have a running game after the first couple of series. That’s not a winning formula for playoff football, and Payton knows it, so it seems very unlikely that he’s doing more than throwing out a possibility here.