The Oakland Raiders have the chance to be one of the most improved teams in the NFL this season after making some smart free agent moves and draft picks, but one of those could be in question for 2013, as first rounder D.J. Hayden underwent abdominal surgery this past week.
According to ESPN.com, Hayden is still recovering and while the team said that it wasn't explicitly related to a heart issue he had in college, there is a good chance that it is. Hayden originally had a heart issue at Houston when he had a bad collision and severed his inferior vena cava, tearing a blood vessel on his heart and he was rushed into surgery. According to stats, the injury is very fatal up to over 90 percent and luckily he was able to recover.
Doctors cleared him and Raiders staff felt that the heart problem wouldn't be an issue and while the surgery is to remove scar tissue, ESPN medical expert Stephania Bell said that the issue is likely related to what happened last year. Hayden was taken 12th in the draft after the Raiders dropped down in a trade with Miami. The team feels that long term the incident won't be an issue even with the current surgery.
The team sees the surgery as a minor setback and they are ready to prepare for training camp even if he is out, as the team signed free agents Tracy Porter and Mike Jenkins, meaning that Hayden won't need to start anyway. The injury also shows why the team was smart to sign former player Charles Woodson. While the star won't be playing at corner for Hayden, he will be able to come onto the field for certain sets in his place and will be a good presence in the defensive backfield.
Another reason why the signing makes sense is due to the fact that he is a veteran that has dealt with serious injuries and he can be a positive presence for Hayden as he makes his comeback. The team went just 4-12 last season but they have some hope after trading for Matt Flynn from Seattle and bringing in names like Nick Roach and Kevin Burnett.
"It is absolutely related to the heart surgery. There wouldn't be any scar tissue if there wasn't a surgery," Bell said. "But they can be very comfortable that it doesn't have anything to do with the heart itself or the vein that was operated on ... It's not totally unsurprising. There are uncertainties about this process and this one of this. It's a reminder that it's a process on the road of the recovery with multiple variables going on. There are potentially bumps on the way and this is one of them. It is a setback, but it may not be a completely worrisome one. If we have some more issues down the road it could will be more worrisome, but this could be just a blip on the road to recovery."
