Ward Initial Diagnosis of Grade 3 AC Joint Sprain Confirmed

[Nash]

I was listening to the NFL.  show on Sirius this afternoon ( Pat Kirwin and Jim Miller) .. they had a doctor on the show to discuss injuries around the league- his name was Dr David Choa and he seemed authoritative to me.he was team orthopedic doc for the Chargers for 17 seasons.. He stated definitively that the ball and socket and the labrum were fine on Ward.. the injury was specifically only the ligament between the clavicle and the acromium. He further stated Ward could have been injected with lidocaine and gone back in to the game, but there was no point to it.. his web site is “Sports injury central”

[9 Nines]

Jeff Fisher said, "Cam's got a shoulder." 

[Nash]

BTW, that would make Wards injury a grade 1.. I suppose the ligament can be reinforced with a minor procedure if need be, but it’s extremely fortunate the remaining ligaments and the ball and socket were fine.. Dr Chao sounded like he had direct contact with the local orthopedic surgeon , but did not state his source 

[TheChosenTitan]

3 minutes ago, Nash said:

BTW, that would make Wards injury a grade 1.. I suppose the ligament can be reinforced with a minor procedure if need be, but it’s extremely fortunate the remaining ligaments and the ball and socket were fine.. Dr Chao sounded like he had direct contact with the local orthopedic surgeon , but did not state his source 

I remember hearing from him before as well, I’m sure we will know the actual diagnosis in due time 

[9 Nines]

5 minutes ago, Nash said:

BTW, that would make Wards injury a grade 1.. I suppose the ligament can be reinforced with a minor procedure if need be, but it’s extremely fortunate the remaining ligaments and the ball and socket were fine.. Dr Chao sounded like he had direct contact with the local orthopedic surgeon , but did not state his source 

Are most head team doctors older?  I met someone whose brother is the head doctor of a team, and he said his brother was the youngest head team doctor in NFL history. 

[9 Nines]

He is no longer a team doctor - but independent and he trained under Andrews.  He was the Saints head doctor until 2025.  Now I see he is the Broncos head doctor. 

https://www.karimmeijermd.com/

Edited January 6 by 9 Nines

[TheBukafax]

40 minutes ago, Nash said:

I was listening to the NFL.  show on Sirius this afternoon ( Pat Kirwin and Jim Miller) .. they had a doctor on the show to discuss injuries around the league- his name was Dr David Choa and he seemed authoritative to me.he was team orthopedic doc for the Chargers for 17 seasons.. He stated definitively that the ball and socket and the labrum were fine on Ward.. the injury was specifically only the ligament between the clavicle and the acromium. He further stated Ward could have been injected with lidocaine and gone back in to the game, but there was no point to it.. his web site is “Sports injury central”

You’ve never heard of Dr. David Chao?

[oldschool]

6 minutes ago, TheBukafax said:

You’ve never heard of Dr. David Chao?

 

I was about to say the same thing.

 

@Nash everyone knows this dude

 

 

 

[begooode]

46 minutes ago, Nash said:

BTW, that would make Wards injury a grade 1.. I suppose the ligament can be reinforced with a minor procedure if need be, but it’s extremely fortunate the remaining ligaments and the ball and socket were fine.. Dr Chao sounded like he had direct contact with the local orthopedic surgeon , but did not state his source 

 

 

[freakingeek]

On 1/4/2026 at 3:27 PM, TheChosenTitan said:

And it had to be his throwing shoulder 

The really tragic thing is that it was a completely useless hit. He was already down and that bastard just dove on top of his throwing shoulder. Fucker

Edited January 6 by freakingeek

[Mythos27]

1 hour ago, Nash said:

I was listening to the NFL.  show on Sirius this afternoon ( Pat Kirwin and Jim Miller) .. they had a doctor on the show to discuss injuries around the league- his name was Dr David Choa and he seemed authoritative to me.he was team orthopedic doc for the Chargers for 17 seasons.. He stated definitively that the ball and socket and the labrum were fine on Ward.. the injury was specifically only the ligament between the clavicle and the acromium. He further stated Ward could have been injected with lidocaine and gone back in to the game, but there was no point to it.. his web site is “Sports injury central”

Sounds exactly like what I had. Hurts like a bitch and makes even driving/sleeping painful but you're functionally fine and it's more of a pain management thing. Good news if this is it. 

[japan]

1 hour ago, Nash said:

BTW, that would make Wards injury a grade 1.. I suppose the ligament can be reinforced with a minor procedure if need be, but it’s extremely fortunate the remaining ligaments and the ball and socket were fine.. Dr Chao sounded like he had direct contact with the local orthopedic surgeon , but did not state his source 

Chao has been around for years and has his detractors. If it wasn’t a grade 3 why didn’t they come out and tell us what it was? The way I read the latest information, it still could be a grade 3 or something less. No one really knows. 

[TheChosenTitan]

2 hours ago, japan said:

Chao has been around for years and has his detractors. If it wasn’t a grade 3 why didn’t they come out and tell us what it was? The way I read the latest information, it still could be a grade 3 or something less. No one really knows. 

If it was a grade 3 surgery would be reported 

[titanruss]

There's conflicting reports. From what I've found, many QBs/Pitchers haven't done surgery but every time they didnt, they eventually required it in a year or two or it ended their careers. 

 

Many other positions and QBs where it was a non-throwing shoulder, havent done it and just did the rehab. So a lot of media is reporting cases and situations that have nothing to do with Cam's case or are forgetting that these dudes eventually needed the surgery. 

 

Levis had this exact injury and the team told him not to do the surgery. His docs told him to do it.  It also behooves the team to not lead on the full extent of Cam's shoulder in order to lure a HC. It's completely possible that Cam knows this too and doesn't want to fuck shit up so he's rehabbing and testing it. Once a coach is in, they can re-evaluate if surgery is necessary. 

 

But I will admit overall it feels less doom and gloom than it did. But I would not for a second put it past this franchise to completely fuck this up. 

[BeedoeLaw]

If Cam needs surgery you do it. You don't fuck around with the player you have invested so much in. If you miss out on a coach because he needs surgery so be it. You do whatever it takes to make sure Cam is good for the future. It is hard to believe the franchise would not do whatever is necessary to be sure they are absolutely doing the right thing to ensure the future of their franchise QB.