[img_r]http://wauk-am.tritondigitalmedia.com/includes/news_items/40/3797/driversmilectc.jpg[/img_r]GREEN BAY Donald Driver isnt saying he found the fountain of youth when he underwent arthroscopic surgery on each of his knees in January, but the Green Bay Packers ageless wide receiver is convinced that he extended his career by having team doctor Pat McKenzie perform the procedures.
My biggest thing is, Ive been playing with these knees like this for the last four or five years, said Driver, who despite some limited range of motion and inflexibility in the knees still caught 70 passes for 1,061 yards and six touchdowns last season, his 11th in the NFL. It just got to the point where, I didnt have to get it done, but for me to be able to still play at a high level and play as long as I want to play, I had to get something done.
The 35-year-old Driver has said repeatedly that he wants to play until hes 40, which hell turn on Feb. 2, 2015. He said McKenzie told him he could probably play another three years before the pain would become too much to bear and hed be forced to either have the surgery or retire. Driver said the knees bothered him during games at times but were especially troublesome during his down time.
Id have a sharp pain shoot through when I was walking up stairs, he said.
The source of the pain was the plica, a band of tissue that separates the knee into compartments during fetal development and often remains in adults. The plica on the inner side of the knee is particularly prone to irritation and injury.
So in January, McKenzie went in and removed the plica from each knee, and Driver felt almost instant relief. Packers coach Mike McCarthy held him out of organized team activity practices and the two-day mandatory minicamp even though he medical staff had cleared him to participate.
Thats all I needed, said Driver, who has never suffered a significant knee injury, such as a torn ligament or meniscus damage. My knees werent bad, but from (high) jumping in college and playing football and basketball in college and playing football (in the NFL), they had taken a pounding. To have had no problems with my knees my whole time in Green Bay, it was time to get something done.
I sat down with Doc, and I asked him, How long do you think I can play with this before I have to have surgery? He said, Id give you three more solid years before you have to come in because you cant take the pain. I said, What would it be if I did have the surgery? He said, You can play as long as you want. So I said, Lets get this thing done.
Driver told wide receivers coach Jimmy Robinson that he wished hed done the surgery sooner.
He says he feels better than he has in years, Robinson said. Im excited to see him in training camp and watch him get out there.
Robinson said the time off during OTAs and minicamp will likely benefit Driver, and the missed repetitions wont hurt him because of his vast experience.
This guy works out twice a day on his own when hes down there in Texas (in the offseason), Robinson said. I think itll be good for him in the long run.
And thanks to the surgery, that long run might be even longer than Driver originally planned. Having become the franchises all-time receptions leader (647) last season, caught at least one pass in a team-record 127 consecutive regular-season games and registered more 1,000-yard seasons (seven) than any receiver in Packers history, Driver needs just 607 yards to pass Pro Football Hall of Fame wide receiver James Loftons team record for career receiving yards (9,656).
My goal is to play until Im 40. If I get to 40 and yall still see me running around here looking fresh, then Ill keep going, said Driver, who has missed only four of a possible 160 regular-season games due to injury since becoming a regular contributor in 2000. I think God has blessed me to play this long. It was good to get the surgery done, and I think everyone sees the difference. I played with a lot of pain, and now that pain is over with.
Im running, cutting and I dont have any pain. I feel like Im young again.