Bills waive DiGiorgio after failed physical; Hardy to PUP list
by Brian Galliford on Jul 25, 2009 12:05 PM EDT
in Buffalo Bills News
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PrintWe'd heard the rumor this morning, and now the rumor has been verified: WGR 550 is confirming (with an assist from the Bills themselves) that Buffalo Bills linebacker John DiGiorgio will miss the 2009 NFL season after being waived (failed physical).
DiGiorgio missed the majority of the 2008 season with an ACL injury. He did not participate in any of the team's spring mini-camps or OTA sessions; he has undergone a second procedure done on his knee to further repair the damage that has not healed.
Pat Thomas - a veteran free agent signed in March - will assume DiGiorgio's role as the top backup to starting middle linebacker Paul Posluszny.
In addition, wide receivers James Hardy and C.J. Hawthorne have been placed on the PUP list. Those players can be recalled to the active roster at any time; if they start the season on PUP, however, they will miss the first six weeks of the season.
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Guess you’ll have to change your projected lineup.
Playing Realistic Optimist at Buffalo Rumblings since 2008. Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free.
by MattRichWarren on Jul 25, 2009 12:05 PM EDT reply actions
great way to start the training camp
bummer, i really like his hustle.
by dragonwag0n on Jul 25, 2009 12:10 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
Too bad about Digi
Here is Whitner’s latest TWEET
1st practice in the bag….went pretty good but long way from where we wanna/need to be! Next practice @ 1!
MARVelous - "I went from America's team to North America's Team" Terrell Owens
Hardy
on the PUP….well I think if he starts the season on there it could be a great thing for him. It will rekindle his desire hopefully and he will come back and have a work ethic that will lead to long-term success as the highly touted WR out of Indiana we all hoped for when we drafted him in the 2nd round in 2008.
MARVelous - "I went from America's team to North America's Team" Terrell Owens
Too bad they waived him. I wasn’t expecting that. I was thinking IR.
Playing Realistic Optimist at Buffalo Rumblings since 2008. Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free.
by MattRichWarren on Jul 25, 2009 12:37 PM EDT reply actions
They must wonder if he’ll ever be able to recover from it.
"I know I'm a true receiver..." Roscoe Parrish, Buffalo Bills - May 2009
"In my heart, I know I'm funny." Lt Steven Hauk, Good Morning Vietnam - 1987
by thefourwinds on Jul 25, 2009 4:21 PM EDT up reply actions
It is cool for me...
we will get to see more of Palmer, Bowen, and Harris.
Playing Realistic Optimist at Buffalo Rumblings since 2008. Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free.
by MattRichWarren on Jul 25, 2009 1:14 PM EDT up reply actions
Don’t forget Buggs! He ran with the 2s at MLB today according to CB.
Buffalo Rumblings. On Twitter.
"Our style is simple but not that easy. Roll up your sleeves and play good, solid football." -- Marv Levy
by Brian Galliford on Jul 25, 2009 1:16 PM EDT up reply actions
Good point.
Thomas is listed at MLB on the depth chart from the D&C. I’ll look tomorrow (if the thunderstorms hold).
Playing Realistic Optimist at Buffalo Rumblings since 2008. Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free.
by MattRichWarren on Jul 25, 2009 5:40 PM EDT up reply actions
Shame about DiGi. He was such an easy guy to like.
So we go from talking about Bowen vs. Costanzo as the 7th LB to Bowen, Harris and Thomas as pretty much locks to make the team. It’s a Buggs vs. Corto vs. Palmer battle for number 7.
It would have been a huge surprise for Hardy to not be placed on PUP today.
Palmer
I think Palmer makes it. He’s already running with the second team. That has to bode well for him.
It’s anyone’s guess, but Palmer definitely seems to have way more upside on defense then Corto or Buggs. If Harris, Bowen and Thomas all prove to be at least good special teamers, then Palmer might be the favorite. It’s maybe the TC battle I’m most looking forward to. Watching a bunch of young LBs fly all over the field on special teams and in the 4th quarter of bad preseason games.
Ashlee Palmer
Buffalo Rumblings. On Twitter.
"Our style is simple but not that easy. Roll up your sleeves and play good, solid football." -- Marv Levy
by Brian Galliford on Jul 25, 2009 11:00 PM EDT up reply actions
Palmer was an undrafted player who was expected by most to be picked in the 6th or 7th round. He’s 6’1’’ and played as an undersized (about 225) LB at Ole Miss. He’s very athletic though. He’s gained some weight (Buffalo lists him at 236) and scouts thought that he could keep his athleticism with added weight. He had 89 tackles and 3 INTs during a huge junior season, but was a bit of a dissapointment last year. He’s as likely as anyone to make the PS and has a good shot at a roster spot now too.
Digi had surgery two weeks ago!
What was he thinking?? Two weeks before camp and you are having surgery. The Bills resigned him in February but didn’t expect to see him having surgery two weeks before camp. I don’t think there was a physical that Digi could have taken with that bum knee of his. Reminds me a lot of the Crowell situation but Angelo waited longer and was a starter.
The time to deliver is now and if you fail to do so you will no doubt witness the consequences first hand.
The difference to me...
is that Digi had no choice about the surgery. It hadn’t healed right. Crowell could have played through it. Digi probably could not have.
Playing Realistic Optimist at Buffalo Rumblings since 2008. Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free.
by MattRichWarren on Jul 25, 2009 1:15 PM EDT up reply actions
Even if he could have played through it....
…..that may have not been his best option if he thinks he can play in the league for a few more years after recovering from surgery. Careers can be been permanently short-circuited by making a bad injury worse. Depending on the type or injury, gutting it out can be short-sighted. It is frustrating when someone has surgery just before the start of the season or at the beginning of camp, but in his position he’s probably thinking that he gets waived whether the surgery is in February or July, and he may as well take a chance and see if he can recover sufficiently by the start of the season.
by Gino Parilli on Jul 25, 2009 1:34 PM EDT up reply actions
Can someone explain this to me?
If a player just had surgery wouldn’t they be expected to fail a physical anyway? Players have surgery all the time and aren’t placed on waivers.
I'll donate $1 to help Mary Wilson pay the estate tax...who's with me?!?
by O.J. Is My Bodyguard on Jul 25, 2009 3:45 PM EDT up reply actions
Who knows if wants to come back
In articles from the Bills website, they talked about he was working on his teaching degree from Grand Valley, in the articles from newspapers in Michigan they’d usually comment about how he was back in the state getting in his practicum during the offseason. Digi had a plan for being outside of football, and its teaching and he’s ready to do it. Not that I’m saying he won’t make another attempt at football but he doesn’t need it.
Interesting side note when I was going to Central Michigan I met Digi’s sister, on a Sunday afternoon in a sports bar in Mt. Pleasant, MI me, her, and her fiancee were the only 3 people watching the bills game, (and because there were only 3 of us we had to watch it on a tiny tv instead of a big screen, stupid lions bias.) I wa wondering why they were watching the game and they were wondering the same thing. Got started talking found out who she was, it was pretty funny.
by MichiganBillsFan84 on Jul 25, 2009 1:54 PM EDT reply actions
As a teacher I can assure you that DiG would much rather be playing football. With a couple of years of service he’s got to be pulling in close to 10 times what he would as a teacher…if not more.
Hey man your right not saying a teaching salary is more fulling than an NFL salary
Just throwing out an opinion based on some things I’ve read.
“If I put it off,” he said, “I probably would’ve procrastinated. It was just time. As soon as I was in camp with the Bills (in 2006) it was something that was left to do, and I wanted to make sure I got it done right away. Now, as soon as my career is over in the NFL I can get right to work as a Phys. Ed. teacher.” Time is what DiGiorgio has now that he is finished with college. But he hasn’t ruled out the possibility of returning to Michigan a year from now to serve as a substitute teacher. He plans to marry his fiancée, a school psychologist, this summer, and the two talked about returning to teaching in 2009. http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/story/10823707/1
by MichiganBillsFan84 on Jul 25, 2009 4:19 PM EDT up reply actions
DiG isn't necessarily done for 2009 season
He’s been waived, not put on IR. If his knee heals around, say, week 8 he’d be free to sign with any team.
No, he’s done. His agent said he’s not going to be healthy until January.
His Bills career isn’t over, however, unless another team claims him.
Buffalo Rumblings. On Twitter.
"Our style is simple but not that easy. Roll up your sleeves and play good, solid football." -- Marv Levy
by Brian Galliford on Jul 25, 2009 4:40 PM EDT up reply actions
Obviously, nobody is going to claim him. Unless there’s a coaching change, I would expect the Bills to bring DiGi back next year.
Actually, they’d bring him back here in a week or two, then toss him on Reserve/PUP. He’d be out for the year and eligible to return next year. I’m not sure what the difference is from IR, but that’s what Chris Brown is reporting, anyways.
Buffalo Rumblings. On Twitter.
"Our style is simple but not that easy. Roll up your sleeves and play good, solid football." -- Marv Levy
by Brian Galliford on Jul 25, 2009 4:51 PM EDT up reply actions
Yeah, this whole thing is strange and confusing. Waiving him must save them some money, otherwise they would have just put him on IR. I’m not sure why Buffalo doesn’t just let him sit at home without a contract and save the full million. You run the risk of losing him, but it’s probably worth it.
Apparently, assuming he clears waivers, DiG will be put on the reserve PUP list though Chris Brown doesn’t get into the difference between that list and IR.
The difference seems to be what happened with Jack Kemp when we acquired him
If I remember correctly, Kemp was injured and the Chargers tried to sneak him through on waivers temporarily to keep some of the money. They didn’t think anyone would sign Kemp, but the Bills and two other teams made offers.
Isn’t this comparable to what’s going on?
Comparable...
but Digi is not a starter like Kemp. It’s a good comparison. If the Bills wanted to keep Digi they could just IR him. It’s not like he’s making huge money.
Playing Realistic Optimist at Buffalo Rumblings since 2008. Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free.
by MattRichWarren on Jul 27, 2009 7:26 AM EDT up reply actions
Is Hardy on the PUP a big deal?
During training camp can’t the Bills activate him at any time? If he’s not ready to go the Bills might as well let someone who can get reps have the roster spot…
Exactly.
Playing Realistic Optimist at Buffalo Rumblings since 2008. Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free.
by MattRichWarren on Jul 25, 2009 5:42 PM EDT up reply actions
Not for a few weeks at any rate
Buffalo Rumblings. On Twitter.
"Our style is simple but not that easy. Roll up your sleeves and play good, solid football." -- Marv Levy
by Brian Galliford on Jul 25, 2009 6:11 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
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