Quote Originally Posted by jonboy79 View Post
The gap between our opinions has narrowed, so i guess successful discussion was found.

I'm not sure why he would voluntarily sit out of games though, which appears possible if not probable.
I would buy that his recurring back problems could be due tocontinued poor conditioning. It could even be his stomach muscles are too weak, and he hasn't put the effort into remedying that.

I don't think it has to be that "mysterious" though. They are calling it spasms, as in muscular issues, which could easily be fleeting and hard to diagnose/find. I guess i jsut don't find it odd that a 6'9" 350 lb young man that pounds on his body for a living and is NOT known for being a gym rat and is known for being lazy has chronic back issues.
I actually thought he would come back for week 1, assuming he was a gamer, and after playing the game he would get into a "play game, become too hurt on Monday from playing the game to practice for several days, feel better right before next game" rhythm to avoid practice.

But he gets paid regardless of playing the games, and he really doesn't have to play in too many games (assuming he plays well, and I think he would) this year for San Diego to keep him for next year when he is due another $4.5M. It also probably looks fishier if his injury perfectly matched up with the preseason.

And even if they released him and bit the bullet, he could just claim himself to be "finally" healthy, point to his game tape, age, size, etc and get another desperate/gambling team to shell out some decent money (obviously not spectacular money, but Jared seems satisfied with decent money for no work).

I think in this case back spasms = general term for inexplicable pain in the back. He is consulting with doctor after doctor as if his ailment is still a mystery and undiagnosed. This makes sense considering even back spasms respond to rest and treatment (ice/heat, muscle relaxants, anti-inflammatories, weightlifting), usually heal enough to give it a try in a matter of days not weeks/months, and Gaither isn't getting better then getting re-injured frequently, he is just permanently injured with no timetable on a return.

I just don't find it odd that a guy who is known to be lazy when it comes to practice is doing what he needs to do (saying he is too hurt to play regardless of whether it is true) in order to get out of the work. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what is said when he finally comes back. I expect it to be sudden and lacking in details/explanation (much like the whole situation).