Carl Nicks Has Lifetime Toe Injury
August 12th, 2013
When Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune spied Bucs guard Carl Nicks walking into One Buc Palace on reporting day to start training camp with his injured toe “heavily bandaged,” it sent up red flags and had Bucs fans scrambling to the liquor cabinet.
Well, it seems Bucs fans had good reason to drink. And the following news likely will have Bucs fans doing shots this afternoon, and not in a celebratory mode.
Carl Nicks is hurt. His toe, as Bucs coach Greg Schiano suggested early in training camp, is not completely healed and Nicks will have to fight through the injury all season, provided he can make it through the whole season.
In fact, Nicks told Joe and the assembled Tampa Bay pen and mic club that this injury will be with him for the rest of his days.
“I will have to deal with it my whole life,” Nicks said. “Honestly, it is not 100 percent, yet. I plan on playing some this next preseason game and obviously, the third one. We will see how it goes.”
Nicks has played sparsely in training camp in seven-on-seven drills and scrimmages because of his toe. Nicks noted what Schiano had said is correct; It’s something that he will have to play through in order to stay on the field for the Bucs this season.
“I have all the confidence in the world I will be back to playing,” Nicks said. “I will just have to deal with it my whole life. I would lie if I told you it didn’t affect me at all. It affects the way I walk, the way I stand around. I have to stand a certain kind of way. It is something I just have to deal with. I don’t want to get into taking painkillers and not knowing if it is hurting.”
Nicks’ injury was described last year as a “turf toe,” a malady that aflicts many a football player. But players, after much rehab, generally return and recover. Nicks noted, however, it may not just be turf toe.
“It’s been described as many different things,” Nicks said.
Nicks stated that the more he is on it, the more it hurts. He practiced roughly three-fourths of a practice recently and the toe was barking loudly at him. He also noted that the Bucs may ease up on Nicks’ practices in order for him and his toe to be as close to 100 percent as possible by gametime, not unlike what Raheem Morris did for Sgt. Winslow and his bad knees.
“It absolutely” hinders his stamina, Nicks offered.
Nicks is, obviously, frustrated about his toe. If he is healthy, Nicks said the Bucs’ offensive line could be dominating.
“Oh, it could be something special.”
August 12th, 2013 at 12:36 pm
“I don’t want to get into taking painkillers and not knowing if it is hurting.”
WHAT?????? they just threw the Fing bank @ you and you don’t wanna take a pain killer?
cut this guy and get someone who wants to play!
August 12th, 2013 at 12:40 pm
So Nicks should get hooked on narcotics just for your perverse enjoyment???
August 12th, 2013 at 12:47 pm
He better find a way to make it work for game day! I’ve had toe / foot problems where I could barely stand and had to hike miles and miles all day long in full battle rattle in the Marines. Someone being paid millions of dollars can find a way to play football on Sundays.
Nicks – still hurt
Joseph – still hurt
Revis – still hurt
Clayborn – still hurt, hurt again
Bowers – not living up to expectations – bad conditioning
Hopefully everyone is ready and playing in game 1 against the Jets, but the news on these injuries hasn’t been too optimistic.
Carimi and Larsen be ready…
August 12th, 2013 at 12:47 pm
“I don’t want to get into taking painkillers and not knowing if it is hurting.”
Yeah I’m not into that either when I have pain somewhere other than a headache. I don’t like to mask something that could be getting worse. On the other hand. He better damn well get used to taking pain killers on game day. That certainly as Joe suggested won’t get him hooked on pain killers if he only takes them on game day.
August 12th, 2013 at 12:50 pm
translation…..I got paid, I might try to play, but not if it hurts.
August 12th, 2013 at 12:50 pm
“Toe on the line, toe not fine….but still TOE ON THE LINE”
They have known about this for some time now…..I think they know he can still play.
August 12th, 2013 at 12:56 pm
I find it hard to believe that this injury just occurred last year. The dude got his money and now the Bucs are stuck with a guy who may last 10 games this year.
August 12th, 2013 at 12:59 pm
GULP!!
August 12th, 2013 at 1:08 pm
Better draft his replacement. Oh wait, I forgot Dominik doesn’t draft any offensive linemen.
August 12th, 2013 at 1:10 pm
Lets not forget he said its been called many different things. You ask me, if it means him playing only game days(as long as he’s still dominant) then that’s fine with me. Sick of watching stars go down in practice. Revis Joseph and nicks should stay the hell off the field until we face the jets who should get killed by us
August 12th, 2013 at 1:23 pm
He’s got gout!
August 12th, 2013 at 1:30 pm
That sucks.
The Bucs will watch him closely this year and he’ll surely be on the team next year, BUT, expect us to start moving forward with new plans for the LG position. Beast or not, you need to know your players are healthy and reliable.
With Nicks, that is now in question.
Carimi and Larsen are our current options at Guard.
If Nicks does play, you’ll see him come out of games if we have a nice lead.
Very unfortunate for him and the Bucs.
Queue Dominik haters for not predicting the future in 3…2…1..
August 12th, 2013 at 1:39 pm
I’m not impressed by the guards that played with the first team. Second team was hard to gauged but they was better than the first. I hope the GM is working hard to find better backup quickly. And this coming draft get an O lineman or two instead of relying on undrafted rejects that rarely produce great starter. Maybe get the best center to backup Zuttah in case Nick isn’t available next year. It make no sense to me on how many teams in the NFL have deep O Line depth and rarely fall completely apart when a started or two goes down.
We would rather stick with mind numbing Trueblood and Faine when it clear they aren’t the answer. Sign more proven guy at that spot for once.
August 12th, 2013 at 1:39 pm
I will not “hate” on the pop-star for this. Actually we should all applaud that 1 of the big 3 signings turned out to be good. This is far better than the boy-genius gm usually rate of success. Other than VJ there has not been a successful free-agent that the pop-star has signed, ( though there might have been a kicker somewhere).
With all that said, I am very excited this year. If things go right we could actually compete for 3rd place in the division. Can’t Wait!
August 12th, 2013 at 1:44 pm
@Red86
Can you please inform me of which teams these are?
August 12th, 2013 at 1:50 pm
@realist
Coming from a guy that wanted our starters to play an entire pre-season, calling David a 4th pick, eager to lose. Your just an idiot and to stupid to see anything real.
Also the bucs are not the only team that has bad signings, so you either jump to another bandwagon or deal with this as the bucs and us fans are doing.
August 12th, 2013 at 2:07 pm
I guess the alleged “rock star” knows knees better than toes!
August 12th, 2013 at 2:11 pm
Sounds like the same thing that ended Deon Sanders’ career. Not good news
August 12th, 2013 at 2:18 pm
Penn, Zuttah, Larsan, Joseph, Dotson
I remember hearing about this injury and it takes a year to heal. I dont see why they wouldnt just keep resting him and have him in the long run? Yes, I feel like we have a talented enough line to hold the team until he is healthy. Yes it may linger on anyways but at least he would be there for us in a playoff run or help the line towards the end of the season.
August 12th, 2013 at 2:18 pm
@you go Joe says
I never said that i wanted starters to play the entire pre-season, or called David a 4th rounder???? I don’t blame you, I blame the educational system for your lack of reading comprehension ( that means you read thing but do not understand them).
August 12th, 2013 at 2:28 pm
We have got to the be the unluckiest team in the league when it comes to injuries. It just never seems to fail. Hope Nicks can return to his usual self.
August 12th, 2013 at 2:33 pm
Nicks will be playing. I’m not sure how much of this is hype and how much is real. I’m sure he will be playing in pain but the trainers will have a way to numb the pain for game day. Usually teams don’t talk so openly about injuries unless they want that info out there. Look how guarded Revis is with his comments. This is just not the normal M.O. with the Bucs organization. Having said that, it could be exactly as Nicks said and it could be that he will see limited action in games but something just doesn’t seem right about the way all this info is being ‘volunteered’ about his toe injury.
August 12th, 2013 at 2:34 pm
^^^^ no, our fans just don’t read between the lines. this was apparent when he showed up to camp all wrapped up after a year. that says SERIOUS LONG TERM INJURY
August 12th, 2013 at 2:37 pm
@Realist….yeah, you DID call David a 4th rounder. I remember that post. Not your dumbest but certainly in the top 30.
August 12th, 2013 at 3:08 pm
[…] will have to deal with it my whole life,” Nicks said, via JoeBucsFan.com. “Honestly, it is not 100 percent, yet. I plan on playing some this next preseason game and […]
August 12th, 2013 at 3:35 pm
He was dominant even with his toe at it’s worst last season, he will be fine.
I think Bobby is correct on this though
Ray Lewis had a horrible turf toe that he had to just deal with for a good part o his career. A toe he broke and re broke actually. I have confidence that it is still possible for Nicks to play through it this season.
August 12th, 2013 at 3:35 pm
Here is some sobering information about “Turf Toe” and why you should worry more…http://www.prorehabpc.com/resources/library/turf-toe-what-is-it.aspx
August 12th, 2013 at 3:40 pm
File this under “too good to be true”…a guy that big is frankly, not supposed to be that big (& athletic). Something had to give…
August 12th, 2013 at 3:46 pm
It’s disappointing to hear this news, hopefully it’s an issue Nicks can deal with. It’s a big toe though. I can’t help but think it will be an issue throughout the season, considering all the leverage and pressure put on the feet and toes. The good news is the Bucs have a good O line coach just in case.
August 12th, 2013 at 3:58 pm
[…] “I will have to deal with it my whole life,” Nicks said, via JoeBucsFan.com. “Honestly, it is not 100 percent, yet. I plan on playing some this next preseason game and obviously, the third one. We will see how it goes.” […]
August 12th, 2013 at 4:01 pm
The buc realist is such a dik head. He’s obviously not a bucs fan or he wouldn’t get on here with nothing but negative comments. Nicks will prove all the doubters wrong. He may not be ready to go week one but we can always slide Cabrimi to guard
August 12th, 2013 at 4:06 pm
@ realist
Actually you did day David was a fourth round pick. Maybe u were referring to how many rounds it took u until u were able to take the whole 8 inches.
August 12th, 2013 at 4:27 pm
Bill Parcels spoke volumes in his HOF acceptance speech. Players play when most of us are crying like babies. Dion Sanders talks to this day about how bad his toe is. I’m sure playing on the (Joe says horror show of a toe as he saw it up close and personal) didn’t help anything. This guy is a warrior. A real man amongst men. He is going to continue to battle, keep Free clean, and earn Dougie a LOT of yards. I know haters love to hate, but cut the guy some slack for answering with some honesty. I for one, appreciate the inside info.
August 12th, 2013 at 5:04 pm
“Although turf toes can become serious and debilitating injuries, they generally have a good prognosis. With conservative and surgically treated cases most athletes can return to their preinjury level of function. If proper management of the injury and patient compliance is achieved, there is a very high likelihood of return to play without complications”
Did Nicks have surgery yet? I missed this
August 12th, 2013 at 5:05 pm
With todays technology just engineer an orthopedic shoe that can support his foot without putting pressure on the big toe. JMO
August 12th, 2013 at 5:06 pm
lol @ the three stooges,,, you go Joe, Bobby, and truebucfan5599 . And all put together and the football IQ is still zero point zero.
I know that david is a second rounder cause the pop-star has failed at every second rounder he ever took, it was not until Coach Schaino took over that a second rounder was not a bust. Surely you misunderstood that David was the 4th second rounder taken under the pop-star reign.
I would advise you stooges to read again, But i am sure that you will make the same mistake, ( cause that is what you stooges do, over and over and over again.)
August 12th, 2013 at 5:12 pm
I just read this and promptly chugged a beer. Luckily our o-line has a history of playing well with back-ups. The fact that our defensive line doesn’t get much pressure on opposing QB’s with our starters is much more troubling. GMC can’t do it by himself. If that trend continues this year, I may lose all confidence in Dominik. Defensive front and QB is where it’s at.
August 12th, 2013 at 5:16 pm
Nice try Realist but ehhhhh NO….you said he was a 4th round pick. We know it, you know it, ….end of story. Don’t feel bad though. That’s not nearly as wrong as you usually are about things. Two rounds off is pretty damn close for you.
August 12th, 2013 at 5:20 pm
I believe he had a torn plantar plate as well, which generally leads to “hammer toe”, a mixture of injuries :/. I’m believing that if our FO didn’t think that he could get through it he wouldn’t be out there right now. Let’s hope he can fight through it.
August 12th, 2013 at 5:44 pm
Every week they give us a little bit more bad news. This guy will be on IR by week 7. What a waste.
August 12th, 2013 at 5:47 pm
What a horrible mindset to have Snook, please don’t pass it around.
August 12th, 2013 at 6:02 pm
I’m wondering why they don’t simply amputate the toe in question?
POOF and no more turf toe!
And no I’m NOT kidding, people can function with 4 of their toes and the way they get taped up it’s an option. Of course cortisone injection into the area would be my first suggestion.
August 12th, 2013 at 6:18 pm
Cause it’s another injury that’s led to his “hammer toe”
August 12th, 2013 at 6:24 pm
He’s done absolutely NOTHING for this team. PERIOD….Except collect a nice $.
If he has to take pain-killer to play, then either take’m or quit getting paid. He’s been the most “over-hyped” FA signing for what he’s done for this team. I know that’s brutal, but, this is the NFL. You get paid to perform.PERIOD!
August 12th, 2013 at 6:28 pm
He’s done absolutely NOTHING for this team. PERIOD….Except collect a nice $.
If he has to take pain-killer to play, then either take’m or quit getting paid. He’s been the most “over-hyped” FA signing for what he’s done for this team. I know that’s brutal, but, this is the NFL. You get paid to perform.PERIOD! I know that’s harsh, but, what a disappointment, he’s been, IMO.
August 12th, 2013 at 6:32 pm
I hope he doesn’t have to take painkillers. That could lead him down a bad road.
August 12th, 2013 at 6:32 pm
Always have trouble on the o line, except Paul Gruber who was brought here by Ray Perkins of all people.
Kenyatta Walker, the guy that had the mental meltdown, etc.
Been very tough to get a good line that plays together any length of time. Maybe that’s a league wide problem but it sure has been acute for the Bucs.
August 12th, 2013 at 6:46 pm
He anchored the line and played like a man possessed before his injury forced him out, don’t make yourself sound stupid Buccanay.
August 12th, 2013 at 6:58 pm
@ PRBucFan
As I recall, Nicks didn’t have “turf toe”. He had a plantar plate rupture. Unfortunately, a lot of people will call any toe injury that a football player has “turf toe”, even when it’s not. And yes, Nicks had surgery.
He sustained the injury in the preseason/training camp last year. I was surprised they let him play at all last year, frankly. Unfortunately, those few games he played in might have made it irreparable and shortened his career. Or, at least made the rest of his career a lot more painful.
August 12th, 2013 at 7:31 pm
@ Neil
If you were in basic training, and reported a serious toe injury to your DI, and he did not acknowledge that injury, then that’s on him and you should have had recourse.
If you were deployed, each wing or battalion, and certainly every division, has procedures for dealing with injuries that might prevent you from executing your duties.
The fact that you would expect a football player to simply “play through” a serious injury for the sake of money or for your entertainment is ridiculous.
August 12th, 2013 at 7:40 pm
Thanks illuminati, that is pretty sad news to hear.
I hope that’s it doesn’t end up being worst case scenario with him.
August 12th, 2013 at 7:57 pm
I would just amputate the S.O.B. and be done with it, if it was me. Continue making millions and move on. The drummer from Def Leppard lost his f-ing arm. Continued drumming. A little girl’s dad runs her feet over with a lawnmower. She will still walk. Jerry Garcia lost his finger. Became a helluva guitar player. Winter the dolphin lost his f-ing tail. Learned to swim again. We’re talking about a toe Carl. Just cut the bitch off and move along. If somebody offered me say 3 million dollars to cut one of my toes off. I’d say bring me the f-ing bolt cutters.
August 12th, 2013 at 8:37 pm
@ Buc1987
How much to just lop off your head?
August 12th, 2013 at 8:49 pm
@Illuminati maybe you just need to take a little time to go ((Edited for foul language)))
August 12th, 2013 at 9:02 pm
Awesome.
I just dropped a huge Buc1987, and I feel better already.
August 12th, 2013 at 9:19 pm
Not a good sign at all!! We need him and Joseph healthy to paved the road for Martin this season!! With Nicks in the lineup, Martin could set the Bucs rushing record this season however, this toe injury? This is a similar injury that Shaq had when he was with the Lakers and it basically took away his explosiveness and he was never the same dominant player again. I hope science has caught up and can fix Nicks injury….
August 12th, 2013 at 9:26 pm
How much guaranteed??
August 12th, 2013 at 9:30 pm
I’m not going to say this doesn’t bum me out, but at the same time, the toe is better than it was last year, and he played pretty damn good if you ask me (or Doug Martin), he still blew open holes “present day OJ” could wabble through, I see it as him knowing he’s just gonna have to play through pain, which is different than playing through an injury. The trainers WILL apply a numbing agent on game days, and they’ll not over do it in practice, when he’s not pounding people, he needs to be on that stationary bike, riding to Miami and back to keep his stamina in check. They’re many players that played with toe injuries and found a way to be on the field, I really think he’s prepping us to expect the worst, while he displays the ability to still dominate while in excruciating pain, GENIUS!
August 12th, 2013 at 9:31 pm
Illuminati…here’s an easy question for you and everyone else. Would you cut off one of your toes for 3 million dollars?
August 12th, 2013 at 9:45 pm
@Buc1987
A poor man might cut of one his toes for $3 million.
But, would a multimilionaire?
August 12th, 2013 at 9:48 pm
87,
For his contract? I totally would. But, I wonder if the players association would try to step in. I would say not a good precedent to set for their side, but, there is Ronnie Lott, not sure of any other will NFL amputees.
August 12th, 2013 at 9:48 pm
willful
August 12th, 2013 at 9:51 pm
millionaires spend like millionaires…they have to keep feeding themselves with goodies. Take Jordan for instance. He kept asking for what 30 mil per season. Then came back and asked for 35 mil the next season. People at the time thought he was greedy and didn’t need the money. I said he did need the money. The more money you have the more you spend. My cousin played for the Bucs for 2 years and made close to $800,000. Do you think he has any of that money left? Nope. He spent it all real quick. Millionaires tend to have expensive tastes. Jordan prolly spends like CRAZY especially during his playing days. It’s reality dude. It just is. The more money you have, the more you spend. Sapp went bankrupt because of it and many more. On and on it goes.
August 12th, 2013 at 9:52 pm
Amputation wouldn’t fix his issue unless you suggest him cutting off his whole foot? It’s not simply his toe. Lol
August 12th, 2013 at 10:18 pm
PRBucFan…so it’s turf foot..not toe?
August 12th, 2013 at 10:24 pm
Sarcasm aside if you”ll do some more reading you’ll come to see that his toe ailment stems from another more complicated injury.
“It’s been described as many different things.”
But sure call it turf foot if you want, whatever floats your boat 😉
August 12th, 2013 at 10:35 pm
@PRBucFan …lol I made the original comment in jest about Winter the dolphin and Def Leppards one armed drummer. The reason why? It’s to chill people out. I still think people are making too much of all this. If it was THAT serious he would have retired already unless of course he DOES need the money, because hey he’s a millionaire like Illuminati suggested. Does he not have a ring already? Then why still play? People just need to chill out.
August 12th, 2013 at 11:02 pm
Jajaja
August 13th, 2013 at 9:47 am
Has he been tested for GOUT???
August 13th, 2013 at 10:22 am
To all you so called Buc fans and wannabe football players. Just cause you don’t make the money they make doesn’t change the injury. Whether you make a million or 40k injury is still just s bad. If you can make things worse by rushing back. Take your time do it right or you won’t be playing at all. If it can effect your everyday life than it VERY serious 40 mil won’t stop that pain
August 14th, 2013 at 5:15 pm
Researched the plantar plate injury. Same injury as Pierre Garcon suffered. 3-4 month recovery. Nicks’ 349lb frame probably is not accelerating his recovery.