by: Alex Byington 6 hours ago _AlexByington
If anyone knows about the arduous task of recovering from ACL injuries, it’s Robert Griffin III . The former Heisman Trophy winner and No. 2 overall pick out of Baylor saw his once-promising NFL career derailed by multiple knee and lower body injuries. That included having his breakout rookie campaign cut short after tearing both the ACL and LCL in his right knee late in 2012.
Given that particular experience, and the knowledge of time, Griffin has been adament that both Green Bay Packers linebacker Micah Parsons and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes should opt to sit out next season and return in 2027 after both suffered season-ending ACL tears in Week 15.
“The No. 1 advice I’d give to Micah Parsons and Patrick Mahomes right now is to not play next year. And it’s because of when they got hurt,” Griffin said Wednesday during an appearance on The Dan Patrick Show. “They both got hurt in December. You look at these injuries and we’ve seen guys come back in six months, eight months and nine months. And it’d be nine months if they were ready to go Week 1. But you don’t really feel like yourself until about 15 months after the injury, and some guys will even tell you it took me 24 months to truly feel like myself again.
“Don’t get me wrong, 80-percent of Micah Parsons is better than dang near every pass rusher in the NFL. 80-percent of Patrick Mahomes is better than almost every quarterback in the NFL. But I look at it from this standpoint from my own experiences, and these guys aren’t me. But I torn my ACL and LCL – the same injury that Patrick Mahomes has right now – and I wouldn’t have played in 2013. … Because I wasn’t back to myself yet. … I would advise them to not play next year so that when they come back in ’27, they can truly and fully be themselves, and it won’t knock off years from their careers.”