Jets QB Ainge announces shoulder injury, may miss 2011 season http://www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/2011/06/jets_qb_erik_ainge_tears_rotat.html Erik Ainge spent last season on the reserve/did not report list while in rehab battling drug and alcohol addiction and depression, as he recently first chronicled to ESPN New York. Now, the quarterback, who is still the property of the Jets, said he was told today he has a torn rotator cuff in his right (throwing) shoulder. Ainge shared the news on his Twitter account tonight, adding, "no fun, (oh) well, could always be worse, (I'm) sober and loved, all that matters." Ainge's future with the Jets and the NFL had already been in doubt. The Jets have quarterbacks Mark Sanchez, Mark Brunell and Kevin O'Connell under contract for 2011 and drafted Alabama's Greg McElroy in the seventh round. The team also signed Drew Willy to a reserve/future contract in January. Ainge, a fifth-round pick by the Jets in 2008, has not played in a regular-season NFL game.
If anyone missed it, there was a well written column about Ainge on ESPN.com a few months back regarding his drug use: http://sports.espn.go.com/new-york/nfl/columns/story?columnist=cimini_rich&id=6267822
send him to miami. in all seriousness though, how does this not spell the end of his career in the nfl?
HOW? Couldn't have been throwing a football... unless he is off the wagon, it wasn't 12oz curls... Kid is a walking disaster. Hope he has a good education!
Man, that sucks for him. He seems like a decent guy from his Twitter account. I didn't think he had any shot to come back in the first place, but that probably seals his career.
Wow. What a sad story. How can you not root for the poor guy to succeed someway, somewhere, somehow? I would not wish Ainge's tragic nightmare on my worst enemy much less anyone else. I hope he can stay sober, get his shoulder repaired, stay sober, and perhaps make a name for himself in the CFL (while staying sober) so he can maybe get another shot someday in the NFL.
