Weighing Jermichael Finley's Options

It is hard to describe what Sunday felt like sitting in the stands at Lambeau Field.  Seeing a motionless Green Bay Packers tight end Jermichael Finley laying on the Lambeau turf made you sick as a human being, not a football fan. Every day the phrase is uttered 'Football is a violent sport' but to actually see it changes your perspective a bit on how it can all change just like that in one moment for a football player.

After starting out strong this season, Finley hits another hurdle in his career as he is diagnosed with a bruised spinal cord with his timetable unknown. It is pretty much a given the Packers will send Finley to Injured Reserve in the coming days and that's not a problem. The former Longhorn will have to decide whether he will make an attempt to come back or if he will retire from the game earlier than he ever expected.

The attempt will be an uphill climb for Finley. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Tyler Dunne listed all of the Green Bay players whom had neck injuries that either led to spinal injuries or herniated disks ending their careers. I might be just living in the moment, but it seems like that is a great deal of players to get hurt with neck injuries. Although it is not impossible to come back from a spinal cord injury but the biggest problem is the spinal cord has so many different pieces that not every spinal cord injury will ever be the same. Add that the spinal cord is the most vital part of your upper body yet as the campaign once said 'Impossible is nothing.'

Finley might look to Baltimore Ravens linebacker Jameel McClain as inspiration. McClain had a spinal cord contusion in Week 14 of last season and he played meaningful minutes in their game against Pittsburgh yesterday. It is a long recovery process without question yet McClain shows it is not out of the question to see Finley back in the NFL whether it is with Green Bay or another team in the league. But as we just noted, there is a 99/100 chance McClain's injury is completely different than Finley.

There is a chance Finley might hang it up and ride off in the sunset not trying to get hurt again to protect himself for the rest of his life. Remember his son talked to him about how much it scared him to see his dad get a concussion a couple weeks ago. This will factor into Finley's decision likely and I cannot blame him whatsoever if he decides to leave the game. I am not ready to tell Finley what to do though. It is his own damn life. If he wants to try and play football again, great. If he wants to retire and be a great father, great. Either we all win.

As for the Packers tight end position, it might be a bigger problem than wide receiver right now. Andrew Quarless could be a Finley-type player but he has not been able to stay healthy plus bad case of the drops. Brandon Bostick is a virtual unknown. Jake Stoneburner is truly intriguing and Ryan Taylor can do the little things when he's back from injuries. I doubt they make a play at Tony Gonzalez but my goodness, it would be special to watch him play with Aaron Rodgers.

Get well J-Mike.

Charlie.