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ALAMEDA — Cornerback Daryl Worley wanted to play so bad last season he kept popping a shoulder back into place to re-enter the game.
Center Rodney Hudson had kidney stones in 2017 and didn’t miss a play.
Those were two instances Raiders coach Jon Gruden cited Tuesday when paying homage to both players during the course of one interview session as the Raiders opened their mandatory minicamp.
The fastest way to the heart of any coach is for an athlete to perform at something less than 100 percent physically, putting aside personal pain for team gain. Gruden started off his press session with an unsolicited shoutout to the Warriors for the “injuries and adversity they’ve faced. It’s been a blast to watch that. Continued success to them.”
Kevin Durant sustained a severe Achilles’ injury attempting to go above and beyond the call of duty in Monday night’s 106-105 win over the Toronto Raptors in the NBA Finals. Klay Thompson (hamstring) and Kevan Looney (rib cage cartilage fracture) have played when during a regular season situation they probably wouldn’t.
NFL teams face “to play or not to play” decisions every week with injuries. Whether they play or not is a case-by-case basis which includes the medical staff as well as the player in question.
Worley managed to get his shoulder back into its socket in a Week 16 game against Cincinnati, but was placed on injured reserve and shut down for the final two games of the season with a torn labrum.
The move was against Worley’s wishes, and he insisted he would have played had the Raiders been in postseason contention.
“Even though we weren’t in a playoff situation, just to to be able to continue to play and go out and compete each week was something I definitely wanted to do,” Worley said.
Safety Karl Joseph, who at 5-foot-10 and 205 pounds thinks nothing of throwing his body into bigger bodies, had a torn ACL in college and at various points in his first three seasons has missed seven games with injuries to his toe, groin and hamstring.
Joseph, who watched what Durant did and understood it completely.
“For him, it’s obviously sad,” Joseph said. “You never want to see a great talent like that go down,” Joseph said. “Sad that the fans cheered like that when he went off the court. But he’s such a great competitor. I’m sure he didn’t feel 100 percent. Most of us are really never 100 percent. But he wanted to go out there and be there for his teammates. I wish him a speedy recovery, man.”
Coaches often talk about the defense between playing “hurt” and playing “injured.” Being hurt means dealing with pain but not necessarily the risk of making the injury worse. Being injured is unable to play because of the condition or risking making it worse.
Quarterback Derek Carr broke the transverse process in his back and missed just one game after being told he’d have some pain but wasn’t in danger of something more serious. When he broke his leg in 2016, the decision was out of his hands.
Worley said it’s the natural inclination on the part of an athlete to push the boundaries.
“Even when you do feel you’re nicked up, you want to be there with your team, giving your all, whether it was an actual injury or you just feel like you’re hurt a little,” Worley said. “You still want to go out there and play. Sometimes, when it’s a real injury, the training staff will stop you. But when you feel like you can go, you’re definitely going to try.”
Joseph believes the last line of defense is the player’s knowledge of his own body and what it will tolerate.
“Obviously, the team wants you out there if you can help the team, but it’s always going to be your call,” Joseph said. “There are times where I wasn’t 100 percent where I felt I wanted to go out and help the team and be on the field. Nobody is going to force you ou there if you say you can’t play. But as a competitor you always want to be out there on the field.”
Gruden said he leans heavily on the training staff and the strength and conditioning coaches, as well as input from the player. And he’s not shy about heaping praise on those who are adamantly about playing and manage to make it to the field despite how they’re feeling.
“It’s just terrible what happened to Durant last night,” Gruden said. “Credit to him, though, for giving his all and laying it on the line. I can’t compliment him enough and wish him the very, very best.
“There are a lot of bad things that happen in sports. But we try to use all the expertise we can and always make the best decision possible with the player in mind.”
