Redskins tight end Chris Cooley said he is a “casualty of the [NFL] lockout.” Cooley says he needed time with trainers in the off-season to rehabilitate his surgically-repaired knee at the team facility. Obviously no player could talk to any staff during the lockout. Peyton Manning said something along the same lines when he ended up getting neck surgery to end his season.
Washington Post - “I feel 100 percent – and I’m not blaming anybody. I feel one hundred
percent that I am a casualty for the season, of the lockout,” Cooley
said. “I think it was a shame that they didn’t let players who had
surgery spend time with the doctors and trainers that they trust on a
daily basis. I wish I could’ve. I think what I went through in July, I
could’ve went through in March. I started doing things and it slowly
swelled up and I wasn’t here. I can ice it at home and do things at home
… But I’ve never been through it before.”
I feel for players that had injuries in the off-season and couldn't get help because of the lockout. The only people they should've been able to meet with were trainers. The only thing that I have to question is him playing at the beginning of the season when he knew he wasn't 100%. If you come back after the lockout and aren't at full speed you should take the time to heal. It's better to miss a few games at the beginning of the season than to risk a major injury and miss the whole end of the season.
