Injured tight ends eye training camp

[The_Philster]

The Buffalo Bills' injury-plagued tight end position is beginning to look a whole lot better.
Coach Mike Mularkey said starter Mark Campbell and No. 1 backup Tim Euhus are recovering from reconstructive knee surgery so well that both could be ready for the start of training camp in July.

While the Bills worked out on one end of the field, Campbell and Euhus ran routes and went through drills under a team trainer's supervision Thursday during organized team activities....more (http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20050528/1040183.asp)

[LifetimeBillsFan]

This is making me breathe a lot easier.

I know that there are a lot of Bills fans who aren't particularly enamoured of the team's TEs, but M.Campbell is a good blocker and a power-running team like the Bills needs to have a good blocker at TE and I feel that he would have been sorely missed in the running game. He also did a very good job of helping out the LT against J.Taylor and some of the better pass-rushers that they faced (there was an article posted here about that before the 2nd Miami game last season). His experience and proficiency in doing that may prove very important for the team this season. And, T.Euhus showed flashes of the pass-catching ability that we would all like to see more of from the TE position. I think that having them both back will help JP Losman a lot and I'm glad to see that they are recovering well enough to be in a position to work with him in training camp.

It's also good to hear that K.Everett's surgery went well. He could be a candidated for the PUP list, which would allow the Bills the option to bring him back between Weeks 6 and 10. I'm not sure what the rules for the PUP list are--I know that players injured in training camp are not eligible, but I'm not sure if being injured in the rookie mini-camp would make Everett ineligible or not. Before his injury, he looked like he might be able to bring a different dimension to the Bills' TE position.

Does anyone have any info on what the post-surgical effects of an ACL injury are on a player's speed, agility, etc., what percentage of the player's pre-injury abilities he can be expected to regain, and how long it can take for him to regain those abilities? I know the typical time to recover from surgery to get back on the field is 6 months, but one would expect that the injury would take away some of the player's pre-injury abilities and that the player probably wouldn't have fully recovered all of the abilities that he could be expected to regain immediately. It would help to have some idea what Campbell, Euhus and Everett might have lost to their injuries and how long we can expect them to take to get back to their optimum level of post-surgical play. Any ideas?

[EDS]

ACL injuries used to be career killers - but that was 15-20 years ago. Now the surgical techniques have improved dramatically so that the player can regain their previous form and speed. It usually takes two full years to gain back the speed and explosiveness.

[Bert102176]

Hopefully they'll be healthy and ready to go cause we need them badly

[Kerr]

I'm still dissapointed about losing Everett for most, if not, the whole season. I really thought the guy could have come in and contributed in the offense, sort of how Randy McMichaels did for the fins in his rookie season.