How 4 Riders went down in 1 drill
Published: Friday, Jul 9th 2021, 2:07pm
By: Stephen Safinuk (@Safimod)
Yesterday, news broke that the Riders would be without multiple defensive starters for the year after 4 players (3 defense, 1 offense) went down to Achilles injuries. Freddie Bishop III, Larry Dean, Nelson Lokombo and Jonathan Femi-Cole all went down to season-ending Achilles injuries Thursday. Sources tell the Piffles Podcast that all 4 players went down during the same drill in front of a strength and conditioning coach, all within a very short time frame.
During the drill, players were told to throw a medicine ball in the air, and then make an explosive cut before the ball hit the ground. It wasn’t until the 4th player went down that the drill was stopped.
These injuries certainly leave a lot of question marks along the defense as both Freddie Bishop III and Larry Dean were penciled in as game 1 starters and key members of the defense that will be without 2019 starters Charleston Hughes, Chad Geter, Cameron Judge and Solomon Elimimian due to free agency or retirement.
It also leaves question marks as to why this drill continued after multiple Achilles injuries occurred in a short span. Given the fact that players are returning to the field for the first time in 2 seasons, it might be wise to ease them into things, rather than throwing them directly in to explosive drills ahead of training camp.
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