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Seattle Seahawks mandatory minicamp is underway, and one notable absence on the field is starting safety Bradley McDougald.
Pete Carroll did note last month that McDougald underwent knee surgery but ever went into any specifics. Now we know a little bit more from Bradley himself about the surgery he had, and when his initial injury occurred.
At Wednesday’s press conference, McDougald confirmed that he suffered a partially torn patellar tendon during Seattle’s Week 8 win over the Detroit Lions last season.
Bradley McDougald elaborated on his knee surgery. Said it was for a partially torn patellar that he had dealt with since Week 8 of last season. Tried rehabbing it this offseason but decided on surgery, which was right before OTAs. Said he'd be ready if the season began now.
— Brady Henderson (@BradyHenderson) June 12, 2019
This pretty much explains why McDougald was on the injury report with a knee injury for multiple games towards the end of the 2018 regular season. In fact, he also missed a few snaps because of a shoulder stinger in that Lions game.
McDougald did add that he expects to be ready for the start of training camp next month, so that’s a positive. Seattle is no stranger to patellar tendon tears, as that’s what TE Jimmy Graham suffered in the 2015 season, while TE Will Dissly met the same cruel fate last September.
Seattle’s secondary was very much a banged up group. In addition to what we now know about McDougald, Tre Flowers missed Week 2 with a hamstring injury, and was thrust into the starting lineup because of injuries to Dontae Johnson and Byron Maxwell (both of whom would later be released). Earl Thomas’ legendary time with the Seahawks ended with a broken leg in Week 4. Shaquill Griffin had an ankle sprain in Week 17 that surely affected his play the following week against the Dallas Cowboys, and a hip injury put Delano Hill on injured reserve before the playoffs began.