Georgia LB Jarvis Jones has gotten maybe the best news of his career. According to Dam Pompei, leading orthopedist Craig Brigham has examined Jones and concluded that he never had the spinal stenosis he was diagnosed with in college.
When Jones originally went to play for USC, doctors there diagnosed him with with degenerative spinal condition and would not allow him to play football. He subsequently transferred to Georgia, where he played for 2 incredibly productive seasons and suffered no ill effects.
However, the fear was that the spinal stenosis was something that could crop up at any time and could potentially cut his NFL career short. But Brigham feels that the initial diagnosis was just wrong and that he " had a very mild incident of spinal cord concussion or merely a stinger that has long since resolved."
Jones now has a clean bill of health and his "cleared to play without restriction." He did not work out at the combine, but says he will work out at the Georgia pro day on March 21st.
"The doctor said I was fine and cleared me and the combine went fine for me," Jones told the media before an Atlanta Braves spring training game earlier this month. "I was cleared medically. Teams know my situation. Everything went great. I did everything they asked me to do. I’ll have my pro day, and then I’m going to meet with a whole lot of teams."
Jones had 44 tackles for a loss and 28 sacks over his time at Georgia and with this medical diagnosis figures to be a top 10-15 pick.