Tide NFL Stars to Miss Some Time due to Injury

Two of Alabama's brightest NFL stars will miss time at minicamp after injuries. Calvin Ridley underwent a foot procedure recently by Dr. Robert Anderson in Green Bay in what was described simply as a "cleanup" by NFL Insider Ian Rapoport.

Ridley, who is now slotted in as the number one receiver in Atlanta after Julio Jones was traded to the Tennessee Titans this week, had a spectacular season in 2020 with Jones missing significant time. He caught 90 passes for 1,374 yards and added nine touchdowns as well.

"Everybody has different things that they're dealing with in the offseason, whether it's something from last season, something from the offseason, we don't have to give the injury report right now. The objective is to make sure everybody is as healthy as they can be going into training camp," new Falcons head coach Arthur Smith said about Ridley.

Since Ridley's procedure was just seen as a minor cleanup, it is anticipated that he will be healthy and ready for training camp to begin in July after missing most of the team's offseason activities.

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Another former Bama standout, Cowboys wide receiver Amari Cooper, has been dealing with a foot injury that has also kept him sidelined throughout much of Dallas' offseason program.

Cooper, who has put up three straight 1000 yard seasons, put up 92 catches for 1,114 yards and five touchdowns for Dallas in 2020, even without his starting quarterback Dak Prescott for the majority of the year.

While Cooper's injury is also described as minor, it is possible, according to Ian Rapoport, that the injury could hold him out for the start of training camp, as Dallas will begin their camp earlier than most due to their participation in this year's Hall of Fame Game.

"As far as Amari, Amari has the ankle that he's still working through," Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy said. "He won't participate the rest of the minicamp. I'm just hopeful he'll be ready for training camp."

For both Cooper and Ridley, they each have a massive opportunity this year to enter the upper echelon of elite NFL wide receivers. Ridley gets a chance to serve as a true WR1 for the first time in his career, and Cooper gets his quarterback back fresh off signing a new deal that Prescott will be hungry to prove he has earned.

With training camp still over a month away, we will continue to monitor the health of both players as we prepare for an exciting new NFL season.