Will he or won’t he? It’s the million dollar question regarding Sam Bradford and the biggest game this weekend when No. 8 Oklahoma treks south to No. 17 Miami.
Bob Stoops remains coy in reference to Bradford, who suffered a “Grade 3” sprain in the season opener against BYU.
The initial report three weeks ago was a potential “Grade 2” sprain, which involves a tear of the acromioclavicular ligament and a sprain or partial tear of the coracoclavicular ligaments. Full motion of the shoulder and arm are said to return in 6 to 8 weeks.
With a “Grade 3” sprain, both acromioclavicular and coracoclavicular ligaments are torn. The injury is said to take up to three months to heal and even longer for shoulder strength to get back to normal. Opinions vary regarding surgery or no surgery regarding getting the shoulder back to normal, especially for athletes.
Sam Bradford left millions of dollars on the table returning to OU for his junior season. Had he bolted for the NFL, he’d be the starting quarterback for the Detroit Lions and this conversation would be moot.
Bradford trekked to Birmingham, AL this past weekend to meet with renowned surgeon Dr. James Andrew for what’s being reported as clearance to play Saturday… but that seems rather far fetched. Stoops says he’ll announce later this week the status of Bradford and stated the game plan won’t change whether it’s the Heisman winner or freshman Landry Jones behind center.
If attempting to build a case whether Bradford will or won’t play, all bets point to Jones getting the nod on Saturday. Aside from Miami being an out of conference game and the Sooners needing to focus on Big XII play (Texas is on the docket in two weeks) – Bradford’s NFL career is on the line, as well.
Rush back too soon and you could do long-term damage to Bradford’s throwing shoulder – for what? An early season out of conference game? If OU is going to push for a return, look for it in two weeks against the Longhorns.
The Sooners may be a long shot for the national title game after that early loss to BYU, but the Big XII is still within reach and millions of BCS dollars are on the line. OU doesn’t need to beat UM, but a win over UT is a must. You can roll the dice this week with a back up, but you can’t do the same in Dallas mid-October.
We’ll see what happens, but if I’m a betting man I’d put my money on Jones being ‘the guy’ against Miami this weekend.