Oakland Raiders Shouldn’t Count Jaylon Smith Out

When the draft rolled around in April of 2013, Lattimore still could not do much, much less run. But Friday, Tom Pelissero of USA Today Sports, published an interview of Smith that includes a video of him doing football drills. Smith told him he’s back up to 240 pounds after weighing 223 at the combine, squatting over 500 pounds and leg pressing over 700.

He told Pelissero during a break between workouts Friday at AWP Sports, “When you’re in bed for six weeks, not able to move, not able to walk, you’re this dominant force, but yet you have to rely on people to do little things for you,. It even makes you appreciate the little things, and being back out on the field—it’s so awesome.

“Not a lot of people know exactly what I’m doing right now. But I’m killing it.”

Around 3½ months removed from surgery following his horrific injury, according to Pellissero, Smith is dropping in coverage and swatting his way past a tackling dummy while wearing an ankle foot orthosis (AFO) device that helps him pick up his left foot as he is not yet completely out of the woods.

His recheck in Indianapolis showed that Smith still can’t raise his left foot or swing it out to the side. He has an issue with his peroneal nerve called “drop-foot”, which isn’t a surprise at this stage.

Next: Nerve Damage not as Severe