The source didn’t know whether the Seahawks will bring Finley back for a re-check. Though Finley has said he expected his surgeon to proclaim the bone in the neck fusion healed this month, that doesn’t mean NFL teams will clear him to play football, at least for now.
For one, Finley might have collateral issues in the neck that could be preventing him from passing a physical until or if they heal better. His initial injury included a spinal contusion.
Also, some doctors think C-3/C-4 fusions are too high up the neck to clear players, at least at some positions, because there are too few discs above to compensate for the fused disk.
For a recovery comparison, Packers safety Sean Richardson underwent fusion surgery on his C-5/C-6 vertebrae in January 2013 and wasn’t cleared by the Packers’ medical staff until mid-November, 10 months later. Former Houston Texans running back Steve Slaton had neck fusion surgery in January 2010 and wasn’t cleared until the start of training camp 6 ½ months later.