8-16-17:

Just want to revisit and let everyone know Jaylon is making his NFL debut this Saturday against the Colts in the preseason home opener. And to show that maybe I did know a thing or two about what I stated in my first official fan post.

As many of you have asked that I write my very first Fanpost regarding this topic because of my experience with drop foot and nerve damage, I am here to oblige. So Let's get started.

This picture illustrates what the drop foot brace looks like in relation to Jaylon wearing it while he plays. If you look closely at his left foot you can see a small bulge in the shoe. He also has a custom built brace that only goes up to the middle calf area instead of the back of the knee.

Professional athletes that develop this symptom oftentimes will have specialized shoes made so that the brace fits snug into the shoe it is required to go in naturally. Imagine a custom pair of Nike's where one shoe is a little wider than the other so that you can create a smooth snug natural fit in the shoe while wearing the brace.

The official term for the brace is called an AFO (Ankle Foot Orthosis). Jaylon is currently wearing a custom made AFO from Dr. Cooper. As you can see the brace is not overly large, it does not limit range of motion, mobility, or agility. The brace is made of a synthetic plastic that lifts the foot into proper position as if you're standing on it flat. This prevents the foot from dropping unannounced.

Peroneal nerve damage is a very common occurrence in other sports and is a pretty non-invasive condition to deal with. Most all symptoms of Foot Drop heal on their own over time; unless the subject has an underlying neurological condition, degenerative spinal condition, or severe damage. Foot Drop is not a painful condition, so it most often goes untreated for long periods of time. Most people typically stumble upon the fact they have or are developing it when it appears from non-injury related causes. Other non-injury related causes (these are the ones I was referring to) are chronic leg crossing, chronic leg sitting (people that habitually sit on a leg underneath them), chronic kneeling, running on hard and surfaces, jumping on hard surfaces.

Peroneal nerve damage has never cost an athlete his athletic career. Take from that what you will...

Playing in the brace is not an issue at all. It is extremely lightweight, it does not impede agility or mobility. It literally is the equivalent to wearing an ankle brace. The primary difference is orthosis brace has a longer neck that rides up the rear-calf muscle and straps around the back of the knee or calf. Here are a couple options Jaylon has if he prefers to stay in the brace this season:





As you can see these braces are not bulky, hampering, or limiting. They are sleek, ergonomic, and easy to get acclimated to. The hardest part I had was getting used to trusting the brace itself. You don't just throw on the brace and start running immediately. It takes time to get acclimated to the new accessory. There are LOT's of different style braces on the market. Jaylon will have the luxury of having his custom made for his leg only by Dr. Cooper's office, that makes it even better because it's form fitted for the leg it is being used on. Custom braces can cost in the $500+ range. I have seen them as high as $1700 for a custom orthosis.

Now let's review what Dr. Dan Cooper had to say about the injury, the nerve, and his prognosis on the matter last year.

A checkup by NFL teams last weekend in Indianapolis showed Smith remains unable to raise his left foot or swing it out to the side because of an issue with his peroneal nerve. But the "foot-drop" isn't a surprise at this stage, said his surgeon, Dr. Dan Cooper, who is "optimistic that his knee itself will be stable and a good knee and he’ll get all his strength back. And I also think he has a very good chance of getting his nerve recovery back."



That’s because the lateral damage stretched Smith’s nerve "enough to make it go to sleep, but it wasn’t stretched enough to be structurally elongated or visually very damaged" like more severe injuries, Cooper told USA TODAY Sports. There’s normally a one-month lag time before the nerve regrows at all, and once it begins, the rate is only about 1 inch per month.



"He’s had time for his nerve to regrow 2 inches, and the area of where his nerve was injured is 6 inches above the muscle that it innervates," said Cooper, who’s also the Dallas Cowboys’ head team physician. "I wouldn’t really expect him to get much innervation back into that muscle for two or three more months. Then once it does – I’ve seen kids who are completely paralyzed like him on the lateral side and not able to pick their foot up at all (that) wind up being totally normal."



Cooper agreed Smith probably will take a "redshirt" year in 2016, noting that once a nerve injury is discovered, it usually takes around nine to 15 months to fully recover. He also said he knows of high school and college football players who have played with a foot-drop, "and it’s even possible that Jaylon’s good enough to play in the NFL if he doesn’t get his nerve function back "Worst-case scenario, there are surgeries, there are tendon transfers you can do to hold the foot up," Cooper said. "Best-case scenario is he gets all his strength back. And then in between would be that he gets a lot of it back or some of it back."

What got all of us excited was the hope we held for him being ready last season. What lead to skepticism now is the fact that media is pumping out click-bate articles about the topic and giving everyone who has no history or knowledge on the subject a lot of scare. I'm here to settle those overtones for you.

Articles like this are completely click-bait:

Jaylon Smith's Nerve Is Regenerating

We know his nerve started regenerating. It was reported by Dr. Dan Cooper back in April of 2016 that it had already grown two inches and was growing about a rate of one inch per month; needing six inches to go for full regeneration past the point of damage. Most everyone has completely missed the math involved in the recovery timetable. In April 2016, he needed roughly six more inches, that means he has pretty much full regeneration sitting here today on May 8th, 2017. The problem is he has to overcome the fear of leaving the brace for good because it has been his security blanket for the last 16 months.

Due to HIPAA regulations, you won't find a lot of detailed information on the open web about the amount of athletes and this particular injury. Only those who have had severe injuries in a public forum have information about the subject. However, I have given numerous examples of athletes who have or have had the condition and the one common denominator in all of them is that Foot Drop did not end their athletic careers. Some will argue J.R. Reid of the Eagles in 2005 was never the same player. I will say that is partially true. I will also point out that his peroneal nerve injury was about 100x worse than Jaylon's due to the fact his nerve was severed in half and he was not a consensus high stock player coming into the league to begin with. But the fact remains, he made a complete recovery and played in the NFL after the injury. Sean Spence had a severe knee injury in his final preseason game of his rookie season with the Steelers. He hyper-extended his peroneal nerve just as Jaylon did. He made a complete recovery after sitting out his entire rookie season. He is still currently playing in the NFL. Spence was not a consensus #1 draft pick coming into the league, Jaylon was before the injury (he was top 5 in every major draft guru's board and most had him at #1 overall).

This quote is especially telling:

The recent free agent acquisition of the Tennessee Titans suffered an almost identical injury to Smith’s in the final game of the preseason his rookie year (2012) with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Torn ACL. Torn LCL. Nerve Damage. The difference for the third-round draft choice out of Miami (Fla.) was that the nerve specialist he spoke with told him there was a good chance he would never play football again. And that’s he’d have to wear a special boot just to walk. NFL linebacker Sean Spence knows exactly where Smith is coming from.

Here is another good reference piece of material from last year just before the draft.

Center For Podiatric Care And Sports Medicine - Jaylon Smith

Now let's illustrate why we should believe everything the Cowboys have said, everything Jaylon has said, and everything Dr. Dan Cooper has said about Jaylon playing again. More importantly, about playing this year at an extremely high level.

The Cowboys’ website reported that Cooper was a major part of the decision to draft Smith, and Cowboys Executive V.P. Stephen Jones said today on Mike & Mike that Cooper gave Smith a positive prognosis, leading the football people to get on board with the idea that he’s worth a second-round pick — even if he won’t play until 2017. "Dr. Cooper sat us down and walked us through other injuries where the nerve didn’t fire right away and then ultimately it did and ultimately they made a full recovery to be the player they had been before the injury," Jones said, via the Dallas Morning News. Cooper is staking his reputation on his belief that Smith will return to full speed and get on the field in a year. And the Cowboys believe in their team doctor.

As you can see, Dr. Cooper is highly confident in Jaylon's ability to come back because he was the surgeon. In addition, because he is one of the best orthopedic surgeons in the country. He is Mr.-Go-To when you need ortho surgery from a sports injury. But wait... We know his medicals made their way to the combine. Thus, we know that other teams saw his medical records post surgery. Let's take a quick peek at what they might have said last year.

Although he isn’t participating in any drills, Notre Dame linebacker Jaylon Smith’s visit to the NFL Scouting Combine was an important one. Smith’s left knee was examined Friday by team physicians to determine the extent of the injury sustained in Notre Dame’s bowl game against Ohio State. Smith suffered multiple torn ligaments and possible nerve damage that could greatly damage the stock of a player who was considered a first-round lock in April’s draft. A source told FOXSports.com that Smith was walking at the combine wearing a DonJoy A22 brace roughly seven weeks after surgery. "He looks good," the source said. "He just needs more time." How much time is a matter of speculation that NFL teams must try to answer before deciding where to place him on their draft boards — because nerve damage is more serious than torn ligaments. Dr. David Chao, who was the long-time team physician for the San Diego Chargers, told co-host Bruce Murray and me on SiriusXM NFL Radio Friday that he believes Smith will need a "redshirt year" in 2016 before returning to play.

So now we've come to the part where we can take logic and reasoning and apply them to conclude Jaylon will in fact play and be able to perform at 100% in doing so this year (baring any unforeseen knee injuries).

Here is a reference video of his current condition. It was published on Feb 15th. 2017.

Jaylon Smith Training Video Published Feb. 15th, 2017

You can clearly see in the demonstration video Jaylon has no physical limitations. Allow me to hush the ones screaming "but it's not football drills"... The physics involved in this video clearly demonstrates he has no structural stability issues to move laterally, vertically, or horizontally at his normal speeds. Thus, his knee is fine and his drop foot is a non-issue now. Many of you are wondering if he was in the brace for these training sessions, yes he was. Which leads me back to my main point of emphasis, the brace will not diminish his ability to play at a high level. If the guy can run, jump, hop, cut, bounce, sprint, and change directions as illustrated in the video, he is 100% ready to take the next step in his recovery. He is what we call, about to cross the finish line of recovery. Will Jaylon Smith play this season, I can with the utmost certainty guarantee that if his knee holds up after he knocks the life out of a couple people, he will not only play, he will be from this day forth known as "Godbacker".

UPDATE: 5-10-17

Jaylon Will Play In Season Opener Against Giants

Long Live Lord Godbacker