Drew Tate spoke to the media on Sunday after making the decision to undergo surgery on his non-throwing shoulder. Here are excerpts of his comments . . .
On the factors that went into his decision:
A lot, actually. I didn’t want to be a distraction to this team this year. Dave (Dickenson) had mentioned that — he said coming back in, taking reps and then you get hurt and you go back out and then it deflates again. I don’t want to take reps away from Kevin or Bo and now Brad.
On the importance of getting the shoulder repaired:
I also wanted to do what was best for me in the long run. It’s kind of like, the first time, shame on you; the second time, shame on me. I don’t want there to be a third time and then it gets really bad. Talking to Dave and talking to Patty (Clayton, the Stamps’ director of medical services), they say once it goes out one time and you don’t get it fixed, it makes it a lot easier to keep coming out. The best thing to do right now is to get it fixed and get back on the field as fast as possible.
On the assumption his season is over:
It’s not over. The season is not over. The race isn’t won at the start, I can tell you that right now. We’ve got three (games) down, there’s 15 to go plus and I plan on being on this team at the end of that 15 or plus. I don’t think this season is over with yet.
On the frustration of being sidelined:
That’s an automatic given, but it’s out of my hands so I’m trying not to get worked up. So don’t even worry about it because there’s nothing you can do about it. Just worry about getting back on the field as fast as possible. That’s where all the focus is.
On the risk of trying to come back without surgery:
When they started talking about putting on a brace on my arm and that could alter my throwing motion (that helped finalize the decision). In college, I had an abdominal strain and it affected my throwing motion and then it overcompensated for other muscles and that’s when you get tears, sprains and other nicks. So if I got this brace and then my throwing motion is altered, then that’s going to mess up everything else in my body and make me unbalanced and that becomes a distraction to the team.
On his role with the club while he recovers:
I’m going to be in there in the QB meetings. I want to be the middle man for the receivers and quarterbacks so everyone is on the same page. I want to be the floater and go back and forth and just tell guys ideas. That’s my area right there (along with) rehab.