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00:00the NFL Sunday slate in week number 10, it's getting to crunch time. It's the second half
00:09of this 2024 NFL season. So the injuries perhaps even more impactful to give you that injury
00:15analysis and insight live on this Monday on the early line. We turn to the doc, the pro
00:20football doc, Dr. David Chow, joining us live right here on this Monday on TEL as always
00:27Dr. Chow, we appreciate the time. Thanks for having me. You know, middle of the season
00:33basically and in general 85% is a pretty good week right now for health for any individual
00:40player. It's good to know doc because it's not just looking back on crazy or scary or
00:45significant injuries that might happen during the middle of the game. It's projecting out
00:50the remaining weeks for teams in contention or trying to figure out what the second half
00:54of their season holds for the San Francisco 49ers, a team that entered this year, a Super
00:59Bowl front runner in the NFC title favorites. It was huge to get Christian McCaffrey back
01:04on the field yesterday for the first time in 2024 played a lot wasn't overly productive
01:10on the ground, but still 107 scrimmage yards when all was said and done. He had missed
01:16the opening eight games of this year for the 49ers dealing with Achilles tendonitis doc
01:21in both legs. Had a Christian McCaffrey look to you in a season debut. Look, he looked
01:27good. We expected him to look good. The worry though, like he played a lot of snaps and
01:32he did fine. But the worry continues into next week. You know, there is a propensity
01:38for early season, you know, ramp up injuries, acclimation injuries, muscle injuries, not
01:45so much for the Achilles tendonitis. I mean, it happens around the league. You saw the
01:48early hamstrings or quads or things like that around the league. Let's hope CMC can
01:53avoid that because this is early season for him. His season just started. This is game
01:58one for him, basically. So hopefully the 49ers could avoid any sort of setback there. But
02:04overall, the 49ers are healthier. You know, Debo, even Jordan Mason, Trent Williams in
02:09general, they're healthier. Doc, looking at some of these players that do you think it's
02:13interesting with Christian McCaffrey as a medical specialist here, what are you looking
02:18for this week out of practice for Christian McCaffrey? Like, are there some things that
02:21over the next day or two, you'd see if there's any swelling or how he reacts to it or you
02:25just let the player tell you how he's feeling, how his body reacts? I think it's load management,
02:31right? Load management is a dirty word in the NBA because it affects game. Load management
02:37happens all the time in the NFL, during the practice week and during games. And it's all
02:45monitored and it's just a continued ramp up of more usage of Christian McCaffrey in a
02:51safe way. Yeah, so Doc, let's go to what we saw yesterday around the National Football
02:57League throughout a Sunday slate. I do want to start with Tristan Wurfs, who has been
03:01a staple for a Buccaneers team that can ill afford any more offensive injuries with what
03:07they have seen this year and how shorthanded they are. Dr. Chow, what did you and your
03:11team at Sports Injury Central see yesterday for the Buccaneers' star offensive tackle?
03:18From the war room, it looked like a right knee MCL sprain and hopefully not more. The
03:24MCL part has now been reported by national media. The more part, not yet, which we hope
03:30doesn't come true. But we see this being a multi-week absence in the best case scenario
03:36and even potentially IR. So, Baker Mayfield continues to kind of, you know, stay alive
03:42and rally his team. They didn't get the win in the end, but, you know, they're snake
03:47bit with injuries down in Tampa.
03:49Oh, they certainly are. A couple of young tight ends, Doc, I want to talk to you about
03:52Dalton Kincaid of the Buffalo Bills and also Sam Laporta of the Detroit Lions. For Kincaid,
03:57it's a knee. For Laporta, it's a shoulder. Any expectations on the length of these or
04:01will they be okay?
04:02Well, you know, Dalton Kincaid returned to the game. He fell directly on his left knee.
04:10It's our belief by video. He has a PCL sprain. Don't freak out. This is not the same degree
04:16of sprain as Pukenukuwa. He did try and return to the game, left again, had a brace on. We
04:23do see this as a short-term absence, not as long as Pukenukuwa from the preseason missing
04:30all the time with the Rams, but it does mean that this game against the Chiefs is in jeopardy
04:36at least, if not a little bit. Sam Laporta, we hope that he can roll through with his
04:41shoulder injury. The Detroit, you know, snuck out that win. They weren't looking good in
04:46the first half. In the second half, they sure got it done and came back to steal the win.
04:52Doc, quickly before we get to Monday Night Football, to ask about guys like Pukenukuwa
04:56and the health, of course, for the Miami Dolphins, just quickly want to ask you about
05:00Dak Prescott. We got the news earlier in the weekend that his season was most likely done
05:05as he might need to have surgery on his injured hamstring. They said in the broadcast yesterday
05:10that he was still maybe seeking a second medical opinion. Where do you fall on what Dak Prescott's
05:16season has? Is there any chance we see him again in 2024 for Dallas?
05:21Well, where we fall is where we started with, which is this is a different hamstring injury.
05:26It's hamstring tendon avulsion, not hamstring muscle tear, which is just time rest and what
05:32have you. The surgery would be to resect the tendon. I think he gets the surgery. And with
05:38the surgery, there is an outside chance he returns later in the season if the Cowboys
05:43stay alive. And that, at this point, is the biggest if of all. Can the Cowboys stay alive?
05:49What a difference it makes. You know, obviously, Cooper Rush did a great job in the past subbing
05:54in for Dak Prescott. They were five and one. But you know what the key difference is? Cooper
05:58Rush is the same guy. But Dallas is in the same team. They can't run the ball. How many
06:02quarterbacks can be one dimensional and be successful? Not very many, including Cooper
06:07Rush.
06:08Doc, let's head over to sixscore.com and check out the field view for tonight's Monday Night
06:12Football game between the Dolphins and the Rams. First thing I want to ask you about
06:16here quickly is the Rams offensive line looking pretty banged up coming into this one.
06:21Well, you know, as banged up as they are, they're actually on the uprise, right? They
06:25were really injured when they had the start of the season. So they're directionally headed
06:29in the right direction. Yeah, it still shows on the field view. At this point in the season,
06:34we look at sixscore, SportsCenter Central, more direction like Deltas. Like, we love
06:39the direction of the Patriots yesterday. They've been up eight points over the last three weeks,
06:45and they beat Chicago there. Even though their score is relatively low, it's the week-to-week
06:49Deltas that we start to look at now. We'll show you all that at Sports Injury Central.
06:53And of course, the big question today is Tyreek Hill. The only thing I can tell you is I don't
06:58know a lot about his wrist injury, but only I can tell you is there's no such thing as
07:02a true game-time decision. In the 17 years in the NFL, I never had a true game-time decision.
07:08We had game-time confirmations. We think he's going to go, let's get him out there, let's
07:12make sure. Oh, we think he's not going to go, let's get him out there, make sure. But
07:15it's a media-driven thing, the true game-time decision.
07:18Dr. Chou, as always, the insight is much appreciated. More on the early line next.