News came from NFL Network today that Patriots rookie receiver Tyquan Thornton will miss a significant amount of time, but his shoulder injury isn't considered season-ending.
#Patriots rookie WR Tyquan Thornton, who was ruled out last night with a shoulder injury, suffered a collarbone injury, sources say. The promising campaign is now put on hold, though based on his timetable, the injury to the speedster is not season ending.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 20, 2022
So what does this mean exactly? We checked in with Dr. Jessica Flynn to get her take on the injury that was likely sustained here to the left shoulder:
In Dr. Flynn's opinion, based off the report and the video, we're talking about a broken left clavicle (collarbone). How many fractures and whether surgery is needed will determine the length of his absence.
"There's certainly a mechanism for either an AC joint injury or a clavicle fracture — same mechanism, it's just which gives first," Flynn said. "The fact that they're staying clavicle sounds like a clavicle fracture and so if you have a clavicle fracture the main issue is, is it in two pieces or a lot of pieces like Aaron Rodgers' throwing shoulder one (he had that plate with like 13 screws) so those are just going to take a little longer to heal. If there are a lot of pieces, it's going to take longer to heal, it's more likely to need surgery. For a simple fracture, they're usually left with a decision, 'Do we operate or do we not operate?' and depending on what surgeon you talk to and what day it is, they're gonna say either operate or don't and they may not agree with each other. If it's a simple fracture, surgery can sometimes speed up the return to play process. The healing process and the return to play process. But surgery comes with certain risks. So that's why some surgeons try to stay away from surgery.
"Average return to play I would say six to eight weeks, four to six weeks is possible with surgery, but just from experience in the NFL, it's usually around six to eight weeks."
UPDATE: Mike Giardi confirms Dr. Flynn's timetable:
Source says Thornton is expected to miss "around 8 weeks" but also cautioned that everyone heals at their own rate. https://t.co/66PS2dL75C
— Mike Giardi (@MikeGiardi) August 20, 2022
Does that mean return to practice or play a game?
"It's complicated because he's a rookie," Flynn said. "It's not like Aaron Rodgers who can be away from the game for a long time and come back and be fine. So I think you probably have to pad that. I think I think we're getting to know more once you find out if you had surgery or not and if it really is a fracture and I can give you a much better timetable then. But in general six to eight weeks, it could be longer because he's a rookie if it's a fracture."
As for the likely talk that given Thornton's thin body type, this was an injury waiting to happen ...
"It's a football injury," Flynn said. "That's ridiculous. ... Him putting on weight was not going to prevent this."
(Getty Images)
BSJ ANALYSIS
In all likelihood, given his position and the fact that he's a rookie, it would be a surprise if Thornton is back before two months which would be about the middle of October and he would miss the first six games.
Wouldn't say that's a season killer for him, especially as a rookie since he's shown so much promise. It will be tough for him to earn a role at that point, but perhaps an injury or trade would make him more valuable.
It's much more likely that he rejoins the team and has a minor role through the end of the season. Thornton learning in that space could be valuable and be worth keeping him on injured reserve. Certainly wouldn't push it and risk re-injuring his shoulder and putting his offseason at risk.
We'll know much more on Thornton at the 53-man cutdown. For him to return this season, he has to make the initial 53-man roster and then be moved to IR where he can return after four games. If he's put on IR before or at the cutdown, his season is over.
So what now at the receiver position? Here's the current pecking order:
DeVante Parker
Jakobi Meyers
Nelson Agholor
(Tyquan Thornton, if he was healthy)
Kendrick Bourne
(Kristian Wilkerson, if healthy)
Tre Nixon
Lil'Jordan Humphrey
Josh Hammond
*Also need to keep in mind that RB Ty Montgomery gives you coverage at receiver and he would likely slot ahead of Nixon
If the team was entertaining trading Bourne, they will likely reconsider that now.
Not sure how much this changes things for preseason heroes like Nixon and Humphrey. Wilkerson's return from a concussion probably has more of an impact on those two players.