Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Patriots Health Check: Gilmore, Harry, COVID and Shaun Wade Discussion with Dr. Jessica Flynn — 8/27/2021

Episode Date: August 27, 2021

The New England Patriots have been relatively healthy throughout 2021 training camp, thus far. However, there are some injury and health concerns to key players on their roster. Joining host Mike D’Abate is Dr. Jessica Flynn of Boston Sports Journal and NBC Sports Boston. Dr. Flynn offers her thoughts on the injuries to cornerback Stephon Gilmore, receiver N’Keal Harry and newly-acquired defensive back Shaun Wade. The duo discuss the COVID-19 misunderstanding with Cam Newton, and an injury tidbit on TE Hunter Henry that can only be found on Locked On Patriots. Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnline AGThere is only 1 place that has you covered and 1 place we trust. Betonline.ag! Sign up today for a free account at betonline.ag and use that promocode: LOCKEDON for your 50% welcome bonus.Rock AutoAmazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You are Locked On Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello to all of you, Foxborough faithful. You are now locked into the Locked On Patriots podcast. It is finally Friday, August 27th, 2021, and it's time for a little New England Patriots health check here on your daily home for news, notes, and analysis infused with the occasional opinion on your six-time Super Bowl champions, the New England Patriots. And don't forget, Pats fans, the NFL season is about to begin and nobody covers it like the Locked On Podcast Network.

August 30th through September 8th, Locked On's Ultimate Season Preview is taking you through every team and every division with the help of Odyssey's Ross Tucker and Jason LaConfora. Follow the Ultimate Season Preview 2021 feed on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts to tune in beginning August 30th. Greetings and Friday salutations, Patriots Nation. Thank football in Foxborough. It is Friday. My name is Mike DeBate, and I cover your New England Patriots for Patriot Maven of Sports Illustrated. I am also your host of the Locked On Patriots podcast,

which, of course, is a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. And folks, because it's your team every day, that means your questions, comments, and feedback are always welcomed, very much appreciated. So share that feedback. Send it to the internet by reaching out to me

and following me on Twitter at MDABATENFL. And while you're out there giving the weekend nod and saying how you doing to the Twitterverse, please be sure to follow the Locked On Patriots account as well at LO underscore Patriots. Pats fans, joint practices are now in the books for your New England Patriots. The final preseason game coming up this Sunday at 6 p.m.

East Rutherford, New Jersey, MetLife Stadium. Your New England Patriots take on the New York football giants. And Sunday will be the final tune-up before the New England Patriots open the 2021 regular season, a home game against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, September 12th, 425 p.m. Eastern Start at Gillette Stadium. And we know from earlier in the week, one of the faces that will not be suiting up for the New England Patriots belongs to that of Sonny Michel, now a Los Angeles Ram. But the Patriots were not done playing the trading game just yet, as they brought in a new face that joined the Patriots on the practice fields on Friday, wearing Sony's old number 26.

That number now belongs to new Patriots cornerback rookie Sean Wade, formerly of the Baltimore Ravens. New England sending both a 2022 7th rounder and a 2023 5th rounder in exchange for the rookie services. And Sean was a very effective cornerback coming out of Ohio State, at one point having close to a first-round grade. He was one of Ohio State's best slot cornerbacks, but in 2020 struggled a little bit after they moved him to outside corner. But reportedly, a lot of that was due to the fact that he was suffering from turf toe for much of the season. But this is a very

Patriot-like move, a very high ceiling for Sean Wade, and potentially a high-impact player for the New England Patriots moving forward. But he does come with his own health issues, some injury concerns with Sean Wade. And let's face it, there are health and injury concerns up and down the Patriots roster right now. For the most part, I know they're healthy. But the COVID-19 situation with Cam Newton earlier this week did cause us to pause and remember that COVID is still very much a part of the day-to-day operations for any NFL team this season. Could that potentially be a long-term issue, not just for Cam, but for any quarterback or any player on the Patriots,

or really any player throughout the league? What about the injury to Nakiel Harry? He's still on the shelf. It might be a little bit more difficult for him to come back and play than most people believe. And of course, in the background to all of this is the continued health concerns of cornerback Stephon Gilmore. He hasn't seen the field at all this offseason, or the preseason, or through training camp. And a lot of you are speculating that it really is to do with his contract. But Stefan ultimately is on the physically unable to perform list as he continues to rehab from quad surgery in the offseason. So with all of these medical concerns, we need an expert professional opinion to set us all straight.

And luckily for us, we have that expert professional opinion. One of the best in the business you know her great work from NBC Sports Boston and the Boston Sports Journal Dr. Jessica Flynn joins me here today on the pod and we will discuss the health of Stephon Gilmore of Nikhil Harry the COVID concerns of Cam Newton and the rest of the Patriots roster moving forward and Jess will even share a tidbit on another injured Patriot that you'll hear only here on the Locked On Patriots podcast. Folks, an action-packed agenda to help close out your work week.

Tons to get to, so without further ado, I will bring in Dr. Jessica Flynn of the Boston Sports Journal as we discuss the health and well-being of your New England Patriots when this Friday episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues. Locked On listeners, it is that time of year again. All eyes are now turning to football as teams are back on the gridiron to start the football season. As always, BetOnline is your number one spot for all the pro and college football action

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don't wait and take advantage of all of the great offers available for the 2021 season. Don't forget that when you sign up for the first time, use the promo code LOCKEDON. BetOnline, your online sportsbook experts. Patriots fans, late August means it's time for talking roster spots, quarterback competitions, preseason games, and a lot of other things. But that doesn't mean that the health of your New England Patriots is backburner news.

Luckily for us here today on the pod, I am joined by one of the nation's leading experts in the field of sports medicine to help us make sense of it all. She is a sports medicine physician at Leahy Hospital and Medical Center in Burlington, Massachusetts. In addition, she provides sports injury analysis for Boston Sports Journal and sports injury commentary for NBC Sports Boston. It is my honor, as always, to welcome back Dr. Jessica Flynn to Locked On Patriots. Jess, thanks so much for taking time out and joining me today.

Oh, thanks for having me, Mike. Anytime, and it's always my pleasure. And you offer insight that I just simply cannot offer here on Locked On Patriots. I've said this before and I'll say it again. My initials may be MD, but folks, you do not want medical advice from me. Trust me. That's why we bring Jess in. She's the best at what she does. And on that line, Jess, I have a saying here on Locked On Patriots, and I know our listeners are probably sick of hearing it, but I've been known to say on occasion that team health is the great equalizer in professional sports.

You can have the most talented roster in the league, but if the injury bug bites, it can have major repercussions. And thankfully, the Patriots are relatively healthy right now. But there are injuries and concerns to key players that do have the sharp eye of the fan base right now. Just before we get into muscles and bones, COVID-19 reminded us all that it is still very much around this week. And of course, I'm talking about Cam Newton being required to enter the five-day cadence process after a misunderstanding of the testing protocols.

Now, Cam was back on the field yesterday on Thursday. That indicated that he's continued to test negative, but this is being perceived right now through Patriots fandom as what could be a concern with long-term implications. Obviously, the type of testing that Cam was subjected to strongly suggests that he is unvaccinated, and I'm not going to judge his choice on that, but again, it could have an impact on the team, especially for a player that's presumed at this point to be your starting quarterback. That being said, Jess, I don't have a medical background, so I can't speak to it with any type of expertise.

In your opinion, could this be a concern for the Patriots as they head into the season? I think it could absolutely be a concern for the Patriots and really for any team who has unvaccinated players at this point. We know that with the current data that vaccinated players are seven times less likely to be infected with COVID so far in this preseason. And, you know, I think just going back to this, yes, the decision whether or not to get vaccinated is a personal choice. I wish that high, you know, highly respected athletes weren't necessarily focusing on how personal that choice is. I understand. I think the biggest issue in this case is a lot of players are worried.

This is a slippery slope, right? If the NFL PA sort of goes ahead and goes along with the mandate, what are the owners going to ask for next, right? Where does that line get blurred? And so I think this is kind of, there are a lot of athletes that I'm sure would really like to be protected by all of their teammates being vaccinated. They would really like that competitive advantage of having all their teammates vaccinated, right? But they can't really voice that concern because they're afraid, well, if I stand up against this, what are they going to ask for next?

What am I going to have to do to my body, you know, for the team and for the organization next? And I think that's where that line has been blurred. But as far as the Patriots going forward, I would certainly be worried that your, you know, starting quarterback is not vaccinated. And I would just worry what that's going to mean late in the season if we have another even more contagious variant that comes along. Absolutely. And Bill Parcells used to say the greatest ability is availability. And if you're not available and ready to go on the field when your team is counting on you, that puts the team at a disadvantage, regardless of medical choices, regardless of personal preferences.

It is a concern. And I thank you for lending that expertise and that opinion on the subject because it can be a concern. It is something that is independent a lot of times of the personal choices that every human has to make. And at the end of the day, that really is the most important thing for a human for a team to be able to game plan for it, to be able to prepare for it, and to be able to have contingency plans in place. Probably not a headache that Bill Belichick wants to have. So again, folks, we will continue to keep a sharp eye, but just thank you for your opinion on that and bringing a little medical and, you know, physical background to it as well, rather than just some of the speculation that's going on out there right now throughout the Patriots fan base and throughout the media.

We'll shift gears a little bit here and talk about some of the muscles, the broken bones. Well, not broken bones. I don't want to believe. We'll talk about some of the difficulties that some of the New England Patriots are having right now. And we'll start with McKeel Harry. He's been shelved for a little bit,

suffered a shoulder injury in the Patriots' second preseason game against Philadelphia. According to reports, tests reveal no structural damage, but Harry is going to require rest. Originally, we thought he might be able to give it a go for the season opener against Miami on September 12th, looking now like he will not be back on the field until after week one of the regular season. Jess, sometimes injuries like this with no

structural damage can be deceptively concerning, and maybe I'm making too much of this, but again, I do want your opinion on it as well, because it might leave the door open for a recurrence, and in an injury like this, do you think it's realistic for fans to expect Nikhil Harry to return to form when he steps back on the field, especially seeing that he was having such an impressive camp thus far, or could this hamper him for weeks after he sees the field again? Yeah, I think, I mean, there is structural damage in this injury. And so I don't understand why that language is ever used. Nikhil Harry came down really hard on the side of his shoulder and

immediately, this was actually one of the injuries I actually saw on tape so I can comment on. My initial concerns were his clavicle and his acromioclavicular joint, his AC joint. That's the joint in the front of the shoulder between the collarbone and the acromion, which is kind of like the tip of the shoulder. And when you talk about a separated shoulder, you see someone with kind of like a big bump on the front of their shoulder, that's the injury that we're talking about. It's something Jimmy Garoppolo dealt with. It's something that Tom Brady has dealt with. And by definition, that's structural damage. You stretch and you tear the ligaments that hold that joint together. So since his initial x-rays were negative and things look good and they were quoting

this kind of four-week return to play, that kind of goes with a grade two separation of the AC joint. And yes, I mean, there's never a black and white answer. It's exactly four weeks. So this is something that, you know, could be a little bit shorter. It could take a little bit longer for him to recover. And it's likely something that will still be uncomfortable even once he comes back and he'll have to sort of get used to some discomfort there, some clicking, particularly when he reaches across his body to grab a ball. And so you can see sort of this gradual return and maybe a little bit erratic return depending

on how he's feeling. And that is excellent insight and thank you for clarifying because a lot of times the language that you see in a 180 character tweet on Twitter or just you know a very you know rudimentary type of diagnoses or reports that are put out there, it really doesn't have a whole lot of context behind it. So when you hear no structural damage, he needs to rest a little bit. When he gets back out on that field, I want to see him lunging for balls. I want to see him going for it. I want to see him doing everything that he did prior to the injury.

And sometimes it's simply just not realistic, especially for a wide receiver like McKeel that is so predicated on contested catches, physicality, putting his body out there on the line to make these catches, something to keep an eye on, folks. So if McKeel is still on the roster, because obviously roster cutdowns coming on Tuesday, assuming that he will be on this roster, it's definitely smart for Patriots fans to have a little bit of temperance when it comes to watching McKeel on the field. Jess, I thank you so much for all of your insights so far, and you graciously offered your time, your expert analysis today to Locked On Patriots.

It's always my honor. I'm always humbled to have you join me here on the pod. But folks, we haven't talked just yet about the highest profile Patriots injury. Well, in a moment, we will. Dr. Jessica Flynn will offer her thoughts on Stephon Gilmore when the Locked On Patriots podcast continues. Locked On listeners, Bilt Bar, the most delicious, healthy protein bar you've ever tried, has so many delicious flavors. There's something for everyone.

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bar right now. Visit Bilt.com and use promo code LOCKED15 to get 15% off your next order. That's promo code LOCKED15 for 15% off at Bilt.com. Patriots fans, Dr. Jessica Flynn of Lahey Hospital and Medical Center in Massachusetts joins us here today on Locked on Patriots. And Jess, the white elephant in the room in New England right now is the status of Stephon Gilmore.

Obviously undergoing surgery in the offseason to repair a torn quad, suffered that injury during the end of the 2020 season in a game against the Miami Dolphins. So far, he hasn't seen the field for offseason voluntary workouts from any camp, training camp, or any preseason games yet. He continues to be on the physically unable to perform list. Now, the conspiracy theorists out there are going to say that Stefan's absence is more contract-related than health-related. Again, I'm not going to put you on that hot seat, but from a medical standpoint, from a medical standpoint, there are definitely reasons why Stefan is not on the field and why he is on the pup list.

Bill Belichick has said several times over the course of the last couple of weeks that Stefan has been doing things behind the scenes, numerous things to help the team. We've even heard him referred to some of his teammates as Coach Steph. Obviously, he's engaged in trying to help his teammates. But again, from a medical standpoint, there's a reason he's not out there. What about this type of injury that Stefan has, Jess, would explain his being absent from the field for so long? Because that seems to be the question here with a lot of Patriots fans right now. So this is this is one of those situations that's really difficult to discuss completely in a vacuum and not thinking about his contract at all and his various Instagram posts. But what I can tell you, his quad injury, I suspect just from everything I've read and seeing the injury that this is likely a muscle tear rather than a tendon tear. And they are different. They're treated a little bit differently. The recovery is a bit different. So, you know, he, I think this summer is around when he should be sort of starting to make his

way back to the field. Being the sleuth that I am, I happen to be dropping my child off at school one day for a workout this summer and happened to see Stefan Gilmore out on a field working out with some trainers without any kind of wrap on his legs. So I think that was a good sign that he is recovering well. But this really is around the time when I would expect to see him back, at least in a red non-contact jersey, you know, starting to work his way back on the field with his teammates. So in my mind, this is around the time for recovery. My hope is that he'll be back and be the same Stephon Gilmore with that same burst, that same speed, quick change of

direction that we saw before. But in my mind, there's no doubt that some of this is contract related because this is an injury. He doesn't want to get out there and risk aggravating it too soon, you know, with these contract questions kind of out there. Absolutely. And I don't think there's any question as to whether or not that some of this, at least some of this, is related to his contract. But a lot of the speculation that's driven sometimes by either media or fan base is that there's nothing wrong with Steph Stefan Gilmore. He's completely healthy.

He's simply on the shelf and he's simply just waiting it out. And look, folks, neither Jess nor I have a crystal ball when it comes to that type of insight, but at least knowing the type of injury, the difference between the tendon tear, the muscle tear, and how the recuperation process can go, it at least gives us a little bit to bite on there.

So Jess, again, thank you. Amazing insight. Excellent insight. And I think you've provided a little bit of a security blanket for Patriots fans that want to see Stephon Gilmore back on the field as soon as possible wearing a Patriots uniform, even if it is a red non-contract jersey. We just want to see it. Absolutely.

Absolutely. if it is a red non-contract jersey we just absolutely absolutely just the conspiracy theories will continue to churn regardless of the medical evidence and they did get a bit of additional fuel on thursday with one of the patriots new acquisitions cornerback sean wade comes over from the baltimore ravens and wade is a high upside corner but he did struggle a little bit in his final season with Ohio State. Of course, they moved him from the slot to outside corner, and he had some difficulty keeping up with his target receivers, especially the quick ones, but we found out later that it was the result of turf toe, which he had off-season surgery to fix. Jess, turf toe gets a little bit of a murky reputation because of its name, but it is

painful, and for anyone that's had it, you all know. Jess, you know better than anyone. Two things on Wade. One, in your opinion, is this the type of injury that could be a problem again for him this year, meaning that even though he had off-season surgery, is this something that could be a recurrence throughout the year for him? But most importantly, I think Patriots fans probably want to believe that the issues he had on the field last year with Ohio State were more injury-related than a problem with his mechanics or his skill level dropping off. Because he's looked good so far with Baltimore this preseason.

Jess, is it possible that this injury was more to blame for his struggles in 2020? Yeah, I mean, I think we definitely, one of the biggest things we saw was just a fall off in his speed, his quickness, his ability to keep up. And that absolutely could be affected by turf toe. Turf toe is basically, it affects your ability to push off. And we all know those first few steps when you start to run are really important for speed and for minimizing separation with receivers. So, you know, I think a lot of that can be contributed to his injury. You know, having surgery, my hope is that he won't have any complications.

This is not the kind of an injury where we typically see it recur after surgery. So, yeah, my hope, I mean, we know Patrick Mahomes, obviously very different position, but he's back, you know, to practice. He's been completely fine, unaffected by it. So my hope is that we'll see that same quickness that we saw a couple of years ago. Excellent. And if we do see that same type of quickness and ability to get after the ball, because this kid definitely had a nose to be able to find the ball and really keep pace with his receivers, Patriots may have gotten a pretty good diamond in the rough here when it comes to their defensive backfield. Bill Belichick always seems to find these guys. And apparently Wade was someone that they had their eye on during the draft process in 2021.

So we'll see. We'll see what happens. But I'm excited about the prospects of seeing Sean Wade come to New England. Jess, what can I say? I thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule today to come on Locked On Patriots, offer your insight on Cam Newton, Nikhil Harry, Stefan Gilmore, and Sean Wade. Four of the biggest stories in Patriots Nation right now, just kind of, just basically did it, and she gave everything you guys need all in one nice little 20-minute package. That's talent. That is expertise. Sure. I want to give you one little nugget from

practice yesterday. Give your listeners one little extra nugget that you're not going to see probably anywhere else. I noticed that Hunter Henry came back from his shoulder injury, which none of us really know much about because I didn't see it. I wasn't at camp the day it happened. I heard it was from a blocking drill, but I did notice that he was in a shoulder strap yesterday, a little shoulder brace. So I think that that's an injury that's been minimized by the team, but I do think it's an injury that we should all keep an eye on. My hope is that it's much ado about nothing, but that's going to be one that I'm tracking this week. Excellent. And we do have a lot of listeners, one in particular over in the UK, my good friend, Claire, Klaziklair Cooper, that really loves to keep a sharp eye on tight endage. That's one I know she'll be concerned

about and a lot of fans will, including myself, who's covered Henry back from his days when he played for the Los Angeles Chargers. So interesting tidbit there. I'm glad that you brought that up. And the fact that he was wearing that brace yesterday is something that was difficult for us to see from the media area. And our vantage point, we saw the red non-contact jersey, but having that information is definitely big. And Jess, I really appreciate you dropping that piece of wisdom. And in that vein, folks, please, I encourage you, if you have any medical questions on the New England Patriots, Jess is always on top of things, offers the best and the finest in terms of injury analysis to the best of her ability. I haven't seen her be wrong once yet. So please, Jess, for the benefit of our listeners,

let everyone know where they can find you and your great work and where they can continue to follow you throughout the season. You guys can find me on Twitter. That's probably the best place to see everything I'm working with. It's at Doc Flynn NFL.

And I also have been doing a little work with the 33rd team. I'm writing for Boston Sports Journal. And yeah, I'm looking forward to talking Patriots. And I'm hoping to see a lot of fans in the stadium. And maybe even I can be back in the stadium this year. Absolutely. And we all look forward to that. And we all look forward to a return to somewhat normalcy. Hopefully, the variants and whatnot that are out there will allow us to continue to move forward in this endeavor and not take two steps backward, but everyone do their part and we should be okay. That being said, Jess,

I look forward to talking Patriots football again with you here on Locked On Patriots very soon. In the meantime, my best to you and your family, stay safe and well, and thank you for joining me here today on Locked On Patriots. Thanks so much, Mike. I hope you guys stay well and healthy too. Thank you so much.