Cardinals running back Beanie Wells was listed as questionable for the first two games of the season with a knee injury. He missed both games. As it turns out, Wells secretly had surgery on the knee.
And that has prompted some to suggest that Wells wasn’t really “questionable” for the Week One game against the Rams or the Week Two game against the Falcons, and that the Cardinals listed him as questionable to keep the opponents guessing as to who the running back would be.
Coach Ken Whisenhunt defended the approach on Tuesday, according to Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic.
“When we did the surgery, the intent was he would have a shot at playing the opener,” Whisenhunt said. “It was all going to be just like we said: depending on how his knee reacted to it.”
The surgery possibly was disclosed due to frustrations from Wells regarding renewed concerns regarding his toughness and durability. “People don’t know the half of what’s going on,” Wells told cbssports.com last Thursday, a day before the surgery was revealed. “They only know what they’re told.”
That’s one of the main pressure points between teams and players. Teams want to keep injury information quiet, but the injured player wants people to know there’s a reason for mediocre play and/or no play at all.
We see a simple fix as to the situation that arose for the Cardinals. The league should mandate immediate disclosure of any and all player surgeries.
It won’t eliminate all cheating and fudging when it comes to the injury report, but it’ll help ensure that opponents, as well as those inclined to make their rooting interests more interesting, have better access to relevant information.