Erik Ainge Has Surgery on His Right Hand
I imagine that Mangini and Erik Ainge will have a nice little sitdown after this, it appears that Erik Ainge actually divulged information on an injury and surgery that he just underwent since the Draft.
Former Tennessee quarterback Erik Ainge is walking around New York with a large cast on his right arm this week.
Ainge told 10 Sports he had surgery on the little finger on his throwing hand. That finger was broken during spring camp, but Ainge played all season, sometimes with the finger wrapped.
Ainge said the Jets decided it would be in his best interests for a long career to go ahead and have the surgery now.
This was an injury that Ainge suffered, and already spoke about last year. But he’s a Jet now (even without a signed contract) and that means injuries are off limits. Maybe it’s just a rookie mistake, but it’s a sign to me that Ainge is somewhat aloof to how things are done in Hempstead.
It sounds like fairly minor surgery, but even if you are a third string quarterback for this regime, giving information like this to the press is strictly verboten. I can’t think of an instance off the top of my head since Herm’s time with the team that injury status was so directly addressed … I mean Mangini wouldn’t even address which knee it was that Vilma needed work on.
It’s the right decision by the team to fix something now, and you have to wonder if it might have affected Ainge’s play as a senior if it hadn’t happened.
27 Responses to Erik Ainge Has Surgery on His Right Hand
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Bent says: It clearly bothered him, especially early in the year, although I don’t think it affected his performance, if that makes sense.
Note: Ainge spells his name with a ‘k’ not a ‘c’.
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zzzzz says:
Wow! He really is a Jets QB! I was afraid he wouldn’t have what it takes: bones made of pretzels, muscles made of cream cheese, and ligaments of licorice. I’d cut him, but I don’t think Mangini can resist such a delicious snack.
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James in TN says:
Remember who said Ainge was a mistake. He played last year with it. The official statement was that he broke it while taking snaps from center. Word around Knoxville is that he broke it playing pick up basketball during the season. I wish we had done our homework and drafted Woodson or Brohm. Oh well, Chad or Kellen will be fine behind our new line
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beansy says:
Cmon…its a broken little finger. You guys are making a big deal out of nothing!
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Bilal says:
Erik Ainge is for QB depth. If they Jets plan was for him to be the future of the team, I’d be disapointed. Maybe thats unfair without giving him a shot but I don’t think hes part of the master plan.
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green duck says:
it was all in the scouting reports everywhere on the web and i think i have attached it with my reply after he was selected. health was always on the agenda with him.
broken fingers hand or feet are never cured ! just ask any physician so it is a big deal !
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green duck..you have obviously never played a sport in your life, which is ok. Im not judging you. Do you know how many legendary qbs played with broken fingers…JOE NAMATH. Its a broken little finger to add. Ive played qb. Its not that big of a deal! I could see if it was his elbow or shoulder…fingers heal
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ian says:
i think that a broken little finger isn’t a big deal. index or middle finger would be a completely different story, though.
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ralphinHP says:
Erik Ainge beats out both CP and KC in training camp. I think he gots Chad’s brains and Kellen’s arm.
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JustAGreenGuy says:
He doesn’t have Kelllen’s arm. He could be a taller, non shoulder injury ridden version of CP tho.
I still think Woodson made more sense tho.
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Jim D. says:
Rookie mistake by Ainge revealing the injury and I’m sure Mangini will address wityh him how players should handle injuries with the media going forward.
Ainge is nothimg more than a project at this point who currently looks like he will be a career backup. Hopefully he proves me wrong and develops into more than a backup for this team.
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sjfalcon2001 says:
Let’s not forget that Brett Farve played half a season with the same finger broken on his throwing hand and if I’m not mistaken led Green Bay to the playoffs that year. I’m not comparing Ainge to Favre, but I don’t think this is a big problem. And it makes more sense to have the surgery while he rides the bench.
And while he did explain probably more than he should have under Mangini, it’s not easy to hide a cast on your hand in the middle of May. The press would know something was up. Vilma’s knee injury was much easier to hide.
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My Pet Goat says:
FYI, you don’t want to use aloof. It is not synonymous with unfamiliar, which is what I believe was your target.
http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=define:+aloof&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8
Anyway, I like ralphinHP’s take on the situation. Sound analysis, my man.
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18andOne says:
Not a problem, there was no way this guy was going to play much this year anyway. It took Pennington a couple of years of sitting on the bench and learning before he was ready and he was light years a head of where Ainge is today. Even under the best of circumstances, I don’t think he can expect this guy to do much until his third year. Remember, he’s a fifth round pick not a first round pick. If he played any other position you wouldn’t expect much of him for a while, so you should expect even less with the difficult learning curve the qb has.
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Reprocity says:
Well said 18and1! The only real down side is that they will have to bring in another QB aka camp arm. I wonder if Brad Smith will be less of a slash type player now that we have Ainge. Does anyone know the recovery time frame?
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RK says:
Yea not a problem because you can throw a spiral with just the thumb and large fingers.
I say cut it off and throw him in as a starter.
Cut me Mick!
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SackDance99 says:
I guess we all know that KC broke his ankle in college and that the ankle is a bit more important than a pinky to a QB. This is a non-event, the only issue is whether he’s ready for camp. As for predicting whether he’ll amount to anything or not, we won’t be able to tell until he actually is in an NFL game. He’s a smart kid, so his learning curve probably won’t be the issue. As I see it, I just don’t know if Ainge can adjust to the speed of the NFL, something that most scouts thought Woodson would not be able to do.
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EastSideKahaluu says:
What scared away every team from Woodson was his scouted passing technique and quote-unquote slow release. I watched him in a couple nationally televised games and he always seemed to have good pocket presence and i never noticed release being much of a problem (then again, i’m not a scout). However, if the claims about having an exceptionally slow release are true, i think it might have been a good choice not to draft him. Release and throwing technique, while teachable in some circumstances are not things that change easily. A slow release would allow the ball to be read by DBs allowing them to make plays on the throw (although interceptions were hardly a problem for Woodson in college).
In Ainge’s defense, i think it is very likely that his finger injury was detrimental to his throwing during his senior year. I have heard it said many times that you need your little finger to put that “zip” on the ball as it is being released (also called the mustard). I wouldn’t be surprised if it was partially the reason he was scouted as having a less-than-elite arm. I’ll give him time to develop before I rush any judgments though. -
mikejags says:
Guys, this is a big deal.
IT’S HIS CLIPBOARD FINGER!!!
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hey beansy, i broke my TOE three years ago.it still hurts. you can say whatever you want but you can’t change basic facts about human physics. broken fingers or toes never heals.
yes you can play under pain and be a big qb but this way or another it is a minus to your game.
sorry i didn’t catch your name on the news with you being such a big sports hero ….
not only did i played sports (and still active) i have also served my country with pride
i can’t believe how you draged me to this foolish reply but you deserve it man
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Harvlis says:
18andone, once again, I agree with you completely. There is no way that Ainge was playing this year, anyway. With the money that management spent in the off-season, they were not putting their season in the hands of a rookie. Get him healthy and let him learn, so when it is his time, he will have a better chance of doing well and there will be no excuses. If there was a time to get this operation — it is now. As for you fans who think that this means he was a bad pick — wake up and go to sleep (old Three Stooges line).
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RayD ( CWPOST ) says:
you guys are blowing this broken finger to another level .. Jeez !
Do you really foresee him anywhere but our sideline for at least the next 2-3 years.No worries … Chad will lead us to the promise land ! I know I know … I hate to say it …. but his stats don’t lie especially our solid OL.
Lets hope he took HGH to increase his arm strength
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Jason says:
Don’t worry about a thing, my sources tell me that Eric and Chad are going to fly to the Vatican and get there injuries blessed, KC is going for moral support, it will be the second most important day of his life.
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CHRIS says:
HE’S 3RD BEST IN TENNESSEE HISTORY…BEHIND PEYTON MANNING,CASEY CLAUSEN AND PEYTON MANNING IS THE BEST QB IN NFL RIGHT NOW GOING BY STATS…AND ERIC PLAYED BETTER AFTER HE BROKE HIS FINGER….AGAIN GOING BY STATS….SO I DONT THINK THEY NEED TO WORRY ABOUT A BROKE FINGER SINCE THEY GOT HIM MAKE HIM THE BEST IN NFL….WHEN HE WAS AT TENNESSEE HE WORKED WITH PEYTON MANNING…AGAIN BEST QB IN NFL GOING BY STATS…
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JW in Tennessee says:
First, I’m by no means a U.T. Vol fan. (I’m a UGA guy from way back. Go Dawgs in 2008!) However, I read some of these statements and wonder how so many people can be so boneheaded. Ainge’s stats were pretty much as good or better than Brohm’s (or Matt Ryan’s for that matter) and where did Ainge play? That’s right, in the SEC, the conference that has provided the national champion (in convincing fashion) three of the last five seasons, not the “Big” East or lame ACC. In other words, he has already faced many of the defensive players he would see in the NFL. Andre Woodson, ARE YOU FREAKIN’ KIDDING ME??? The guy has one good season but fell apart in the Tennessee game and played no better than average against an FSU team that was missing something like 13 starters in the Music City Bowl. When the pressure was on, he made a LOT of mistakes and was often very lucky he encountered DB’s with bad hands because I saw him throw easy interceptions many times that were just flat out dropped. He also has a verrrrrrrrrrrrry slooooooooooooow release with his slingshot throwing style. NFL DB’s would/will eat him alive. If the Jets are smart (and I certainly won’t say they are, especially after signing a washed up QB like Favre (am I the only one who saw Favre’s meltdown in the NFC champsionship game?)), they will groom Ainge to be the starting QB within a year or two. He has great height, is a very accurate passer, is a good leader, and makes good decisions with the ball. He could be a Manning-like QB if given the opportunity. The problem is that he walked into a bad team with a bad coach and bad management. Further, like some have said here, a broken little finger is a pretty common injury for QB’s and, once healed, they’re a non-issue. Wrist, elbow, and shoulder injuries are a totally different situation…
I assume you’re joking.