Social media has called the image of top NFL prospect Jayden Daniels of LSU “terrifying” while another said the quarterback’s arm “looks like it’s already chewed up.”
But a couple of doctors say that no matter how ugly the athlete’s throwing arm looks in a recent post on X, it’s nothing all that serious.
On Wednesday, journalist Ian Rappaport posted an update on meetings that the Heisman Trophy winner had with some NFL teams, and used a photo from a game this fall showing a massive lump on the passer’s right elbow, sparking concerns.
Immediately following his Pro Day, #LSU QB and potential Top 3 pick Jayden Daniels is scheduled to meet with the #Patriots, #Commanders, #Giants, #Vikings, #Broncos and #Raiders, per his agent Ron Butler. Daniels has not previously met with any teams. pic.twitter.com/1wM92chLz8
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 27, 2024
Man this weird throwing arm n elbow freak me out. Someone tell me this is fake. pic.twitter.com/c1PHkPsJiv
— Daniel (@danielprescott1) March 28, 2024
Dr. Laith M. Jazrawi, the Chief of the Division of Sports Medicine at NYU Langone Orthopedics, said the culprit is what’s called olecranon bursitis, according to the New York Post.
Jazrawi said the condition does not always cause pain, and can be treated with a cortisone injection or surgery.
Do you think this could affect Jayden Daniels’ draft choice?
“The downtime for something like that is two-to-three weeks for a bursa excision, or you can play the whole season with it because it’s generally not that painful.”
“It’s surgically corrected. It’s not a reconstruction or a ligament repair,” he said.
Jazrawi said the down time after surgery is minimal.
“It’s nothing you need to wait on healing time. It’s really, you take it out and you’re fine. And it’s not even painful to begin with for some people, which likely includes Daniels, because he had it and he wasn’t complaining. It sounds like he played pretty well,” he said.
Fans were able to get a second opinion.
“Jayden Daniels appears to be dealing with olecranon bursitis of his right throwing elbow,” Dr. Jesse Morse offered in a post on X.
“This is an inflammation of the bursa, which is a sac that is usually empty and is there to protect the bone underneath. We have them in several joints including the elbow and the knee,” he wrote.
“‘Banging’ your elbow against a hard surface often results in inflammation of the bursa, causing the body to fill it with fluid. This is a protective mechanism to prevent fracturing the bone underneath. These are VERY common, and more annoying than concerning. As long as they are not infected,” he wrote.
“These can be drained (aspirated) with a needle, but often these will fill back up. I’ve had good success with injecting PRP (plasma from the blood) to make these go away permanently. For some people they are very stubborn,” he wrote.
“These are quite an eye sore and look really funny as you can see with Jayden Daniels. These usually do not have a negative impacts on the player/person. This should not impact his ability to throw or cause any pain. Literally just a visual oddity,” he wrote.
The Post noted that Denials is expected to be among the top three players drafted in the upcoming NFL draft.
