RUMOR: Treadwell Asked to be Put on IR in 2016, Team Refused
Joe Johnson
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A month or two ago (the off-season is becoming one blended mess at this point) on the purpleJOURNAL Podcast we had a guest by the name of @JReidDraftScout, one of the most prominent Vikings Twitterers’. He’s a really, really smart guy that focuses a lot on the draft and prospects while also dropping a ton of knowledge about football in general (so I definitely recommend you check him out and follow him on Twitter). He’s actually guested on our show twice, once before and once after the draft and IIRC it was the first appearance where he said something that I hadn’t really heard before and that stuck in my craw (Yuck). Essentially, in a sort of defense of Laquon Treadwell, he said that Treadwell was very injured for most of 2016 and that was why he was so ineffective.
That, if true, would’ve helped redeem Treadwell’s standing with the Vikings faithful who were openly throwing around the word “Bust” after the 2016 season. Apparently, JReid’s sources are legit as there was a post last night ColdOmaha.com’s Yinka Ayinde Tweeted the following about Treadwell:
Treadwell asked to go on IR, but his request was denied https://t.co/VF7OU7Sijo
— Yinka Ayinde (@Saxyprince) July 12, 2017
Now, this is strange. I know that I’m new to this whole writing for the Vikings thing but can someone let me know if there’s ever been a scenario where a player has ASKED to go on IR and been denied? This raises so many questions! At first, I thought it validated Treadwell (as it was injury as opposed to the ability to acclimate to the NFL that kept him off the field) but now that I’m writing/thinking about it… I feel like if the doctors cleared him to play and he just wanted to go on IR, that’s a bad sign. However, Treadwell has shown that he’s willing to put in the work to get better since being drafted, so I doubt he’d ask that unless he really felt like he needed it. While doctors can clear players, obviously they know their own bodies better than a doctor does and the NFL doesn’t have the best record when it comes to protecting its players against long-term, career and even life threatening injury.
So, I guess the main question is… What was wrong with Treadwell? Which part of his body was injured? I remember JReid being vague about it as he really known (Again, IIRC) but the common assumption is that it has something to do with the devastating lower leg injury that Treadwell suffered back in 2014. He essentially broke his leg and dislocated his ankle and that’s part of the reason why people think he performed so poorly in speed-related drills at the 2016 combine. Either way, the fact that he was injured enough last season to think that he couldn’t compete, can be looked at as a good or bad thing. Like most things Vikings related, it’s complicated. What we do know is that he seems to be healthy now and has been performing like an absolute BEAST in OTA’s so it’ll be extremely exciting to see what he can do when training camp (FINALLY) rolls around later this month! We’re hoping the best for you, Laquon!