New York Jets rookie tight end Kenyon Sadiq has offseason surgery during OTAs, but it shouldn’t affect his rookie year too much
New York Jets head coach Aaron Glenn informed the media Kenyon Sadiq underwent surgery this week. The good news is he won’t miss much time and everything should return to normal once he’s back.
The New York Jets began OTAs on Wednesday and the biggest news to come out of practice so far is rookie tight end Kenyon Sadiq’s hernia surgery.
While the words “offseason” surgery aren’t ideal, it’s more of a proactive move than a reactive one, per Jets head coach Aaron Glenn.
“[Kenyon] Sadiq had a minor procedure, so he won’t be out at practice today,” Glenn told reporters Thursday. “… We knew about this going into his last year of college, and he dealt with [it] doing rookie minicamp, and we wanted to make sure we get it done right after rookie minicamp. So he’ll be ready to go during training camp.”
The Jets and Kenyon Sadiq are making the right choice
It’s unclear what kind of hernia surgery is required, but Glenn said “groin” when he was asked to specify the procedure. Therefore, it’s likely Sadiq is undergoing surgery on an inguinal hernia.
If that’s the case, it usually takes about six weeks to recover from that kind of operation. That timeline means Sadiq would be fully healed and ready to go by mid-July, which is well ahead of the start of training camp.
So, it’s easy to see why the Jets and Kenyon Sadiq are making the right call when it comes to having the surgery, now. He’d miss valuable time if this were to flare up in camp or the regular season, which is obviously not ideal, whatsoever.
Sure, you want rookies to get as many reps and spend as much time on task as possible, but if there’s any time to miss during the offseason, it’s OTAs and mandatory minicamp. Sadiq will be on the sidelines and in the meeting rooms, so it’s not like he’ll be cast out from the team.
Does this have any impact on the Jets’ tight end room?
Outside of OTAs and minicamp reps, no. This shouldn’t affect anything in terms of pecking order and whatnot.
Sadiq will still be the favorite to win the starting tight end gig once he returns. As mentioned earlier, he’ll have no limitations at that point, so he should be able to hit the ground running. His natural athleticism, IQ, abilities, and draft status should carry him into the regular season.
The only way Sadiq doesn’t earn the starting job is if he simply underperforms during camp and that wouldn’t be due to the surgery.
So, all in all, it’s definitely a storyline to keep in mind, but everything should be just fine when it’s all said and done.