There was nothing to be proud of watching Alabama receiver Jaylen Waddle limping across the field last night in the National Championship game.
Thank goodness, the talented Houston sprinter did no more damage to himself after returning very early from a fractured ankle that required surgery in October.
I want to be very clear, I am not blaming Waddle for wanting to play. I believe that his desire to be there for his team was unselfish and admirable.
Who I I am the 100 percent blame lies with the team’s medical staff, coach Nick Saban and the people in Waddle’s inner circle.
No person I have listed should have encouraged this man to go out into the field last night and risk the possibility of throwing away his chance to provide generational wealth to his family as a first-round choice.
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Before getting injured in the game against Tennessee, Waddle was the most explosive player in Alabama’s reception center, and that says a lot considering the winner of the Heisman Trophy DeVonta Smith was lining up next to him. Waddle is currently designed to be a choice in the middle of the first round in Todd McShay’s current 2021 draft. Potential 2020 prospectus that were selected around the same time that Waddle is designed to be chosen around $ 15 million for the first contract with a signing bonus of more than $ 7 million. This is not an idiotic change for the average guy.
Waddle’s ability to become a big winner not only means a lot to him and his family, but it is also important to the black community. Like wealth gap in this country that still affects black Americans disproportionately, when the opportunity arises to jump into another range of taxes, Waddle should be encouraged to do everything he can to ensure that this happens.
The professional guys know exactly what I’m talking about, and many of them gave their opinion on Waddle’s situation, offering his advice to the young receiver.
That’s why it was a shame for the Alabama medical team to put Waddle on that field without him having 110%. He was clearly limping in the warm-up and was unable to run smoothly without ankle discomfort.
Even though ESPN later reported in the broadcast that the ankle is fully healed, there is a difference between being healed and being ready to play at the highest level. Waddle was clearly not ready to leave and was not at full strength. Even if the ankle was technically good, if Waddle was not comfortable playing with it, it could have led him to overcompensation for relying on other muscles too heavily, which could have caused another injury besides the ankle.
This is where Saban should have intervened. As a coach who cares about the players you bring into your program and takes care of taking them to the next level, there’s no way you can watch Waddle and think it’s okay to play with that ankle.
At one point, Saban should have taken the decision out of the player’s hands and told him to sit down. Even if Waddle wanted to enter the game just because of the memory of having played a national championship, all he had to do was take a ball in the first quarter and then sit down. He ended the game with three 34-yard receptions and limped visibly after most of those plays.
At the end of the day, Waddle did absolutely nothing to improve his draft stock on Monday night. If anything, he limping on the field may have hurt his chances of being selected for the high in April. Working in the field is not the most beautiful final impression you want to give NFL decision makers. Waddle was essentially mortgaging his future for a chance to play in a game that his team would win anyway.
It was dangerous and irresponsible for Waddle to set foot in that field on Monday night.
Sometimes in life, you need other people to tell you what is best for you. This was definitely one of those moments for Waddle.
Thank goodness he managed to overcome the game.
For all the young players who watched last night: What Waddle did is not an example to be followed, it is an example to be avoided.