Jets WR Decker has hip surgery
Eric Decker will be sidelined a bit longer than initially expected.
The Jets wide receiver, already on injured reserve with a shoulder injury, underwent surgery Tuesday on his hip.
The Jets announced that hip surgery was deemed necessary after Decker had an evaluation when he was placed on IR last week with a torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder.
The team said the anticipated recovery time for Decker’s hip surgery is six months. When he is able to get off crutches during that period, he will then have the surgery on his shoulder, with recovery time expected to be eight months.
“It’s probably too early for that,” coach Todd Bowles said of Decker possibly missing the start of next season. “It’ll probably be close, but I’ve got to see how he heals.”
Decker i njured his shoulder against the Bills on Sept. 15 and it worsened the following week against the Chiefs.
He was inactive for two games while the Jets waited to see whether the shoulder would improve. When it was determined last week that it hadn’t, the Jets put Decker on injured reserve so he could have season-ending surgery. Belichick laments tech: Patriots coach Bill Belichick is throwing in the towel in his ongoing fight with the use of tablets on the sideline.
Responding to a question in a conference call about headset problems the Patriots had during last week’s win over the Bengals, Belichick said he “can’t take it anymore” with the tablets, adding there isn’t enough consistency in the performance of the devices.
“I’ve given them as much time as I can give them,” he said. “They’re just too undependable for me.”
He also railed for several minutes about ongoing problems with communication systems between coaches in the press box and those on the field and the coach-to-quarterback play-calling system, which Belichick said “fail on a regular basis.”
“There are very few games that we play, home or away, day, night, cold, hot, preseason, regular season, postseason, it doesn’t make any difference; there are very few games where there aren’t issues in some form or fashion with that equipment,” he said. Poyer out of hospital: Browns safety Jordan Poyer was discharged from a Nashville, Tenn., hospital after one of his kidneys was lacerated by a vicious hit during Sunday’s 28-26 loss to the Titans.
Poyer was blindsided by Titans running back Antonio Andrews while covering a punt in the second quarter. Andrews had an unobstructed run at Poyer before delivering his blow, which was penalized. Extra points: The Chiefs traded RB Knile Davis to the Packers for a conditional draft pick. … Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger (knee) was ruled out of Sunday’s game against the Patriots. ... ESPN reported t hat doctors believe Browns QB Robert Griffin III will not need surgery on the fractured coracoid bone in his left shoulder. ... The Falcons placed DE Derrick Shelby on injured reserve with a torn Achilles tendon.