He has a neck and will be out a couple weeks.

See you in 2015 Fin. 

Funny.  Biting, even.  Sarcasm at its finest.  

Wasn't Nick Collins cleared by his own doctor too, only to be rejected by the Packers' doctors?  Might be the same case for Finley.  Packers have been very cautious with neck injuries, ending the careers of Sterling Sharpe, Terrence Murphy, Nick Collins and now possibly Finley.  

Yep, surgeon who did the work clears him first, then the team docs have the next decision. And they don't always agree

One side note on the Packers MDs...I know its popular at  X4 to opine that the Packers docs are "super- conservative", but its also true that none of those injured players played for any other team despite their desire to continue their careers.

That suggests the Packers docs are... pretty much like all the others in the league 

Anyone here old enough to remember Tim Lewis?

Tim Lewis and Gary Berry were also lost to neck injuries.

I'm not believing anything until I hear from Doc Benni!!!

IF the packers were confident in Finley's return would they:

Spend a 3rd rounder on a TE ?

Bring in a high-risk guy like Lyerla ?

Would they even want Finley mentoring Lyerla ?

Finley and his agent need GB to be part of their dance, but I am guessing GB is just being used at this point. Agent Baratz showed his hand when he took shots at Rodgers' leadership and he's the one whispering in Finley's ear. thanks and bye bye

Pats, Seahawks seem more likely at this point imo

Not worth the risk, but I'm not the doctor. You might have gambled with 2009 Finley, but not the recent variety.

See what you can get out of Rogers, Bostick and Lyerla. Worst case scenario, you know you can win a Super Bowl with Quarless.

Disagree with your comments on Finley.

MC:
I suspect the odds for that are long

If outside his mental baggage he would have been a day 1-2 selection, I am pretty sure it's close to entirely dependent on his head.

I think if his head is on straight and stays that way, he's close to a lock.

Cut through the bs like a champ. Finley's Packer days are done.

Originally Posted by YATittle:

“@TRobertson80: If Jermichael Finley neck isn't right take that $10Mil policy.. @JermichaelF88” It's Not Abt The Money. It's The Love!

Speaking of love.....

Jermichaelfinley@jermicjaelF88

Things I Love...... pic.twitter.com/8X5AsVy1SQ

 

h/t to Wilde for prompting this from ex-Packer Brady Poppinga via twitter last night, valid points:

@BradyPoppinga: realyvthe only reason why JMike hasnt just taken his insurance payout is because of a leverage play...

@BradyPoppinga: ...if he is cleared by one team them Jmikes agent can use payout to push price tag up.Sure Jmike luvs the game...

@BradyPoppinga: ...he never would have worked so hard to come back. But if he can return he could make way more $ than payout.

@BradyPoppinga: he does at the right price.He knows the amount of risk he would b taking on by playin.He wants to balance out risk/reward ratio

@BradyPoppinga:  Jmike is going about this the right way. #measured and #calculated

I can't imagine any team's giving him anything but a 1 year "show me first" deal. And I don't think that 1 year deal is north of $4 million. 

If Finley want's to exceed that payout I think he's going to have to stick his neck out a bit to do it. Literally. 

Does anyone know why Collins and Finley are different? They both had the same vertebrae fused, yet "conventional wisdom" is saying Finley could be able to return to the NFL? What makes Finley's situation less dangerous than Collins'? In my completely amateur and unqualified medical opinion, nobody should take that kind of a chance on a serious neck injury. It's heartbreaking, but also very scary. 

Maybe Finley has a smaller head.

I recall something about it being the same fusion surgery but the damage (bruising?) to the effected vertebrae was different. Plus, there is the basic physical difference between the two. Some heal faster / react differently to the same injury.

To equal the $10mm (tax free) insurance settlement he'll have to make upwards of $17mm on contracts. Just don't see that happening.

One of them discovered how to put all that talent and ability to use. The other discovered twitter. 

Yapping

Overblown

Talent

Thanks 

Obama

20 million sorta tax free?…i believe I'd take that and satisfy my competitive nature with occasional pickup basketball/badminton/pickle ball games when not scratching myself by the pool

Hurt his neck going for a tackle on Willie Gault was it? Figured out he had that narrow spine thing upon close examination that only happens with a serious neck injury. Just off the top of my head. Am I right?

I believe Collins was cleared by his own doctor.  But I didn't see teams lining up to get him, and I don't expect to see teams lining up to get Finley - Packers included.  However, wouldn't it be scary if Finley and Lyerla lined up in a 2 TE set?  Are the Packers passing or running?  Teams could only guess.  Defenses can't cover everything. 

Yes, Tim Lewis suffered a neck injury in the 3rd game of the 1986 season against the Chicago Bears on Monday night.  I won't lie - I looked it up.    It did end his playing career. 

Patriots check out Jermichael Finley

June, 2, 2014

By Rob Demovsky | ESPN.com

 

There's another potential suitor for tight end Jermichael Finley, but it's with the same caveat as there is with the Green Bay Packers.

Everything hinges on Finley's surgically repaired neck.

The free-agent tight end visited the New England Patriots last Friday, according to ESPN's Adam Caplan. The trip to Foxborough came less than a week after Finley was in Green Bay to check in with the Packers' team doctors.

Finley has reportedly been cleared by the doctor who performed his neck fusion surgery, Dr. Joseph Maroon. But the Packers' doctors did not put Finley through the full battery of tests that would need to be done in order to clear him to return to the team.

Last week, Packers tight end Brandon Bostick, one of Finley's closest former teammates, said he believes Finley will play in the NFL again but was not sure whether it would be in Green Bay.

Finley bruised his spinal cord -- an injury that left him briefly without movement and feeling -- after taking a hit in the Oct. 20 game against the Cleveland Browns. He has not played since. Less than a month later, he had his C-3 and C-4 vertebrae fused together.

He was in the final season of a two-year, $14 million contract when he was injured. As an unrestricted free agent, he is allowed to visit and be examined by any team.

The Patriots' interest in Finley makes sense. Tight end Rob Gronkowski is coming off ACL reconstruction. The other tight ends on their roster are former Packers draft pick D.J. Williams, Michael Hoomanawanui and rookies Justin Jones and Asa Watson.

Jermichael just posted a pic of Forrest Gump on Twitter with the "Momma always said" quote about Chocolates and a headline that reads "you never know what ya will get". 

He's just a squirelly ****er isn't he? And bat **** crazy. 

Yup. And you're following him on Twitter. 

Tantalizing talent. Would love to have Finley back. 

Most of it is stuff passed along by Packer reporters. Not going to lie though. Following Finley must be a lot like storm chasing. 

GB won't be in any hurry on Finley if NE passes on him. I don't think the guy would be a great influence on Rodgers or Lyerla at this point either. If Colt started taking over the position there's a good chance Finley loads his locker up with a pound of blow. 

Finley has to realize he isn't getting 7 million a year. I also don't think he will be able to overcome the fear. The Packers don't need a guy going down the middle with alligator arms and afraid of contact.

$10 mill tax free and the equivalent of $17 mill in contract money? Geez, JMike, take the money and run. It's going to take several years to make that kind of coin, and you'll always be one good hit away from a chair or worse. Take a selfie waving good-bye and holding up an insurance check.

GB will pass, and this is an agent move to drive up the price on iffy goods. But I wonder if one team does clear him, would that negate his insurance policy?

"Jmike is as Jmike does".  Or something like that. 

With WI state income tax figured in he would need to make $19,712,201.86 to equal $10M tax free.

Makes Keil want to scream.

I'd head to FL or TX where he'd only need to make $17,667,844.52.

An extra $2,044,357.34 reasons to play for Jacksonville.

Thanks Jim Doyle.

jeezus***.fq

The Insurance company is not just going to pay out if Finley decides to stop playing. Before they pay out they will need proof that he is medically disqualified from playing again. While the surgeon who performed the surgery supposedly cleared him, I'm not sure how the insurance company would view that. Finley will need teams to flat out say he cant pass their physical before he'd get the insurance money.

The surgeon works for another team, but that team has shown no interest in signing Finley. SO what he was supposedly cleared for could be in question. Perhaps it was just for day to day normal activities. Regardless, insurance companies dont just pay out unless there is valid proof of a claim.

IMHO, while Finley may want to play again, he's also trying to obtain the proof he needs to validate his insurance claim if it comes to that, with these team visits.

The surgeon who did the operation cleared Finley to go live. 

The individual team doctors have to clear him to play.  Big difference. 

Likely Finley does need to show the insurance company that he made an effort to play, but probably does need at least a NFL team doctor (or two) to say he can’t.  It depends on what the policy states.  But NFL team doctors likely know what the risk is and will be reluctant to clear him.  In my uneducated view of the situation, I thought he might be collecting his complementary failed team physicals now. 

This article from Wilde clears up a lot of the questions and misconceptions in this thread. Take a moment out and give it read

http://www.espnwisconsin.com/c...40&post_id=37951

just because Dr. Joseph Maroon, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ team neurosurgeon who performed the C3/C4 spinal fusion on Finley in January, has given him full medical clearance, it doesn’t mean other teams’ doctors will do the same.“Opinions can be subjective. Dr. Maroon’s opinion may not be the opinion of 31 other team doctors,”

Asked by Florio if Maroon had given Finley full clearance to play football again, Baratz replied, “That is correct. … The final question is whether those other doctors, whether they’re NFL team doctors or independent doctors, would also green-light him to take a hit.”