David Chao, MD
2 min read • February 15, 2024
Posted in
With the 2023-24 season in the books, teams are now in offseason mode and several big players have already undergone surgery or revealed injuries that require surgery.
As Dr. David Chao discussed on this week’s podcast, the day after the Super Bowl can be the busiest day of the year for medical checkups. During his tenure with the Chargers, he would routinely have 8-12 players requiring surgery after the season.
Below is a list of the players who have undergone surgery and released the details to the public. Our staff compiles this information to include in our yearly preseason preview. Here’s an excerpt from our 2023 season preview.
The three-time All-Pro underwent surgery on his groin in mid-February after playing through the injury for a majority of the season. He suffered a groin injury on the first day of training camp and tore it off the bone just 14 snaps into the season-opening loss to the 49ers.
Heyward was able to return without surgery after missing just six games, but had 2 sacks and 33 combined tackles over the last ten games.
The 35-year-old defensive lineman should return in plenty of time for the offseason program.
After the Super Bowl, Armstead revealed he tore the meniscus in his right knee on Dec. 3 against the Eagles. He missed the next five games but returned to play in every postseason game, even recording a sack in Super Bowl LVIII. Armstead will have surgery but has plenty of time to recover ahead of the 2024 season debut.
The former Eagles defensive lineman played through a torn thumb ligament in the Super Bowl, according to 49ers general manager John Lynch. It remains unclear when Hargrave suffered the injury, but he will require surgery to correct the issue ahead of next season. Despite the thumb issue, Hargrave had 6 combined tackles in Super Bowl LVIII including a tackle for a loss and a sack.
The Raiders’ All-Pro edge rusher underwent surgery in mid-January to clean up a bursitis issue he had in his left knee. He projects to be 100% for training camp and OTAs.
He also underwent surgery on his right hand at the end of January. Neither issue should affect his ability to prepare for the 2024-25 season.
Crosby finished with a career-high 14.5 sacks, 23 tackles for a loss and 90 combined tackles in 17 games this season.
The Rams’ second-year breakout running back underwent surgery to repair a broken bone in his left hand. The issue should not affect his ability to prepare for next season and he will be fully healthy for OTAs.
Williams ran for 1,144 yards and 12 touchdowns this season despite missing 5 games with a high ankle sprain during the regular season.
Written by David Chao, MD
