Tyler Dunne of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel wrote a heck of a profile on Green Bay Packers linebacker Desmond Bishop. You should by all means check out Dunne's deep dive into Bishop's life story and how it has impacted his recovery from a torn hamstring muscle.
From a football perspective, what stood out to me is that the recovery is still ongoing a full nine months after the injury. When the Packers begin organized team activities (OTAs) this week, Bishop isn't expected to participate. That's at least a mildly concerning turn of events and adds further context to why the Packers signed backup Brad Jones to a lucrative new contract. They also restructured veteran A.J. Hawk's contract to a deal that guarantees he will be with the team in 2013 and most likely beyond.
Bishop said that "my injury side is perfect" and "100 percent." But he added: "I have little nicks and knacks here just from being out and trying to get back in. So we'll see how I feel, but I don't really want to rush it. There's no point in rushing it right now."
Bishop pledged to be ready to practice by training camp, which will open more than 11 months after he originally suffered the injury. We have no reason to doubt his plans, and it makes sense for a veteran player with experience in the current scheme to take it slow during offseason practices. But if nothing else, Bishop's extended recovery time reinforces how serious the original injury was.
