New York Giants offensive lineman Nick Gates went from an inspirational tale of beating the odds to one of the most heartbreaking stories of the 2021 NFL season thanks to one freak injury against the team now called the Washington Commanders.
A frightening lower leg fracture ended his 2021 season after just two games. Watching him writhe in pain on the ground was heartbreaking to see, considering all of the hurdles he has had to jump through to get to the pros. Gates isn’t expected back on the field anytime soon, per his own admission.
Gates said that he is genuinely unsure if he will ever play again, though he is working hard to get back on the MetLife Stadium field as soon as possible. Gates required seven surgeries to fix his leg, meaning that he needed a metal rod to be put in his leg with two screws at the top.
“I don’t even know,” Gates told Dan Duggan of The Athletic. “It’s so hard to tell. It’s slow. I don’t know if I’ll definitely be able to play again, but that’s my goal. I want to.” For every Alex Smith comeback story, there are a handful of players who simply can’t make the grade post-injury.
This is Nick Gates’ leg after 7 surgeries. He has a rod running along his tibia and 2 screws apiece at the top and bottom of the rod. There was also a skin graft with skin transplanted from his thigh to his lower leg. He opened up on the arduous process: https://t.co/6Gec5eEXLL pic.twitter.com/DhqOVB4AQZ
— Dan Duggan (@DDuggan21) May 27, 2022
Will Nick Gates return to the New York Giants?
Gates was an undrafted free agent out of Nebraska when he arrived in New York in 2018. Since making the roster, Gates has started 21 games, including all 16 in the 2020 season. After not allowing a sack in 2020 and earning a nice contract extension, Gates was named a team captain in 2021.
While Gates isn’t Mike Webster on the interior, he was far from the weak link on a suspect offensive line that made it difficult for Daniel Jones to execute last year. Having someone with experience could’ve been what this new-look line needed as they take some time to finally gel.
New York Giants OL Nick Gates admits his football future is very much uncertain after suffering a gruesome leg fracture in 2021. https://t.co/mjJS9qFw3I
— TheGiantsWire (@TheGiantsWire) May 28, 2022
The Giants have prepared for a scenario where Gates cannot continue playing. In addition to the signing of Mark Glowinski and Jon Feliciano in the offseason, Joe Schoen used draft capital on a pair of North Carolina Tar Heels in third-rounder Joshua Ezeudu and fifth-rounder Marcus McKethan.
Even the most hardened Eagles and Commanders fans are rooting for Gates to return to the field and get back to his old self. It might take some time, and the road will be very long and winding, but Gates has the raw football talent to take this injury on the chin and bounce back.
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