On Wednesday, Washington defensive lineman Barry Cofield said he had an undisclosed groin injury in Week One of the 2014 regular season. In response to that disclosure, which conflicts with the team’s injury report for the week, Washington says Cofield was healthy.
“We did not violate the league policy,” Washington spokesman Tony Wyllie told PFT via email.
“Barry began experiencing pain in his groin during the offseason conditioning program in April,” Wyllie added. “He was referred to Dr. Meyers in Philly, sports hernia/core muscle injury specialist at the end of April. He then underwent Sports Hernia surgery and was held out for the rest of the offseason. We decided medically to keep him out of the June minicamp as well, although he was cleared to return. He did start training camp with the team on time. He was full go during camp and especially during Week one of the season.
“Obviously during the preseason he was receiving maintenance treatment as the whole team does,” Wyllie said. “During Week One, he sustained a high ankle sprain versus the Texans. After placing him on short-term IR, Barry expressed concerns about soreness in his groin. Since we had the time, we referred him back to Dr. Meyers for evaluation. Dr. Meyers decided to perform an additional procedure to reduce the chance of any ongoing symptoms when he returned to play from his high ankle sprain.”
As to the severity of the undisclosed groin injury, Wyllie said that, but for the ankle injury in Week One, Cofield would have played in Week Two against Jacksonville.
Of course, that explanation conflicts with Cofield’s words. A lot of people didn’t know about the groin,” Cofield said.
Apparently, the group of people who didn’t know included the Washington trainers, doctors, and coaches.