If you’re looking for a tag line to characterize the strangely wayward life of Alex Guerrero, it would go something like, “It pays to have friends in high places, especially if they’re gullible celebrity quarterbacks."
Guerrero, of course, was bounced from the New England Patriots' sideline palace when his approach and philosophies to injury prevention ran afoul of then-head coach Bill Belichick’s ironclad devotion to strength and lifting weights. He disappeared but stayed afloat due to the fact that he was best buds with Tom Brady, although their line of TB12 products and stores went under a couple of years ago.
But the ever-pliable Guerrero has resurfaced as the Las Vegas Raiders' “wellness coordinator,” which isn’t all that surprising now that Brady is a minority owner. Vegas' new coach Pete Carroll has always been something of an open-minded Left Coast type, and owner Mark Davis is smitten with the idea of being a Brady bud and getting his input on all the important football decisions.
Whether adding Guerrero can be classified as a football decision is debatable—the man has been sanctioned by the FTC, after all, for various fraudulent claims, including a drink that could supposedly help heal concussions—but regardless of the wisdom behind it, he’s now working with the Raiders training staff.
According to a story in The Athletic from Tashan Reed, he’s focused on limiting non-contact soft tissue injuries, adding “prehab” workouts designed to address body functionality in areas that are prone to injury.
It’s an odd ending to a weird story, but perhaps the wildest element of this particular saga is that Guerrero’s ideas may be working, minus the bizarre concoctions and his over-the-top claims for his methods. The Raiders sustained just two major injuries during camp, and both were decidedly based on contact, with quarterback Aidan O’Connell fracturing his wrist, while safety Lonnie Johnson, Jr. sustained a broken fibula.
Fortunately for Guerrero, he’s been shy about claiming credit for any of this, which is a smart move given his track record and his prior move to buck Belichick back in Foxboro. The term “injury luck” comes to mind here, and it will be interesting to see if it holds up for the Silver and Black through a grueling 17-game campaign.
