clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Portis talks about his shoulder

By Skin Patrol

Per the Official Site:

"I don't have full range of motion yet--it's too soon for that," Portis said. "I have some range of motion back. I'm back to doing everything normal, where I can lift my own hand above my head and lift it out to the side. So it's going real well."

Portis underwent the surgery last December. His rehab was expected to be about six months.

He has targeted training camp for his return, but he hasn't ruled out being ready for mini-camp in June.

Obviously the sooner the better as length on rehab can only suggest complications or concerns. Thankfully, regardless of how this plays out, Ladell Betts proved extremely reliable as a backup. That CP is currently rehabbing from injury should also be one more reason to lay to rest any rumors that CP or else Betts is headed out of town. A trade of Betts presumes that CP is 100% and that clearly isn't the case. We shouldn't risk the RB position in '07 by hedging bets on someone who is currently not gameday ready. A trade of Portis presumes other teams are willing to offer suitable compensation for an injured player, which I find dubious.

I will admit that I am not all that concerned about Portis returning because (as mentioned) we have Betts and also I don't think time off the field will significantly impact CP's production in the future. This was an upper body injury and thus lacks the attendent mental roadblocks associated with, say, a knee injury. Given the kind of intensity Portis has always brought, especially to the less heralded RB tasks of blocking and tackling (as an example), there is little reason to doubt that he returns firing on all cylinders. I do not anticipate that opposing blitzers will be leveled with any less frequency and enthusiasm than they were prior to his injury.

Also looking forward to seeing Portis operate in our zone blocking scheme, which Ladell Betts used to great effect late last season.

More From Hogs Haven