Aug 26, 2016; Landover, MD, USA; Buffalo Bills wide receiver Sammy Watkins (14) stands on the field during warm ups prior to the Bills
NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reported today that Sammy Watkins will not need surgery to repair his injured foot, noting that a late-season return is possible.
Sammy Watkins has had an up-and-down career so far, showing his explosive talent at times and struggling with injuries in-between.
I always hate to see injuries put a hold or even a complete stop on a player’s career. It’s one of the harsh realities of this sport and one the Buffalo Bills have had to deal with time and time again this season.
However, we might’ve just heard some very exciting news about Sammy Watkins’ injured foot. In a tweet sent out by NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, he announced the results of a meeting between Watkins and Dr. Anderson — who was giving the wide receiver a second opinion on his foot.
Dr. Anderson recommended that the best route for Watkins was to not have surgery and instead, just rest, rehab and let time do the healing. He also added that a late-season return could happen, which is what we really want to hear.
We originally heard about Sammy Watkins’ foot injury in May after the Bills announced that he had undergone surgery on the foot in April. At the time, we were expecting to see him return by the start of training camp and everything seemed like it would be fine for the young wide receiver.
However, as training camp creeped up, his return seemed less likely to be on time. With all of the dangers that come with a foot injury for a wide receiver, Buffalo didn’t want to rush anything and decided to take it slow with Watkins.
When August came around, the team set a return date for August 8th. When that date came, they took him off the PUP list and activated him to the roster.
As training camp and preseason flew by, everyone was still worried about Watkins’ foot in hopes that he wouldn’t tweak it at all. Sure enough, he was ready to go and suited up in Week 1 vs. the Baltimore Ravens. In the 7-13 loss, he was targeted 6 times and reeled four of them in for 43 yards.
Still holding our breath, he suited up for Week 2 vs. the New York Jets as we hoped for an improvement over Week 1. However, he would finish the game with just 2 receptions off 5 targets for 20 yards. After the game, we began to hear what we were trying to avoid.
We started to hear that Watkins was having difficulties managing the pain in his foot and before we knew it, he was sitting out of Week 3 vs. the Arizona Cardinals. Sure, the Bills have won three straight without him — which means we could see an even better offense when he returns.
Sep 1, 2016; Detroit, MI, USA; Buffalo Bills wide receiver Sammy Watkins (14) catches a ball before the game against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field. Lions win 31-0. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports
My stance on the situation is the same it’s been all along — let the man’s foot heal. Honestly, I don’t want to see Sammy Watkins on the field until he’s 150% healthy because I’d rather wait a small amount of time longer for him to heal than have to watch his career go down the drain with poor injury management.
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It’s simple — we haven’t seen Sammy Watkins at his best since we drafted him with the 4th overall pick in the 2014 draft. There has always been something getting in the way of his development and explosiveness. Whether it be inconsistent quarterback play or injuries, we simply haven’t seen the best of Watkins — and being a Bills’ fan, I want to see the best of every Buffalo player.
Give the man and his foot the time needed to completely put this injury behind them, that way we can finally move on from this mess. At this point, I’m okay with waiting the extra time if it means we’ll actually get to see this young talent play at full speed for once.
And to everyone bashing Watkins for always be injured and being a bust, give him a break. No player in the NFL enjoys injuries and they definitely aren’t out there getting injured on purpose. These things happen and unfortunately, there’s no real way to avoid it.
All you can do is be patient and hope for the best. It sucks I have to say that, but some of us Bills’ fans are acting like Watkins is just skipping games because he feels like it. He’s injured, let him heal.
As for his return, it would be pretty cool if he were to get fully healed before the end of the regular season. Looking at how the Bills’ are playing right now, the only thing we are still lacking a little bit is a passing game. Remember, Sammy Watkins hasn’t played since the Bills’ fired Gregg Roman.
All I’m saying is, he will most likely SHINE under the new Bills’ offense coordinated by Anthony Lynn — much like we’ve seen with LeSean McCoy. There’s no doubt Watkins would give us that extra boost for a playoff run.
For now, though, we wait — and knock on Eric Wood.
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