Adam Schefter gave an update on the health of Gardner Minshew on Wednesday afternoon. However, his new report includes information that is approximately five weeks old.
Who asked him to send it out?
This kind of report exposes the reality of the NFL insider game. They have to listen to the agents.
Gardner Minshew did not tear his ACL.
Patrick Mahomes tore his ACL during the third-to-last game of the regular season. Minshew, his backup, attempted five passes as the backup in a three-point loss to the Los Angeles Chargers that officially ended the Kansas City Chiefs’ chances of making the playoffs.
The 29-year-old journeyman quarterback got the start against the Tennessee Titans one week later.
His time on the field as the starter, with Mahomes already out for the year, did not last long. Minshew suffered an injury to his left knee during the first half that promptly ended his season.
It was reported shortly after the game — by Adam Schefter — that the initial fear was a torn ACL.
It came out one day later that the knee injury was not a torn ACL. Schefter himself corroborated the initial report from Ian Rapoport within 24 hours of his initial “BREAKING NEWS” post about the fear of tear.
Rapoport also provided additional information.
“No surgery is needed for what is essentially a very bad bone bruise.”
That was on Dec. 22. We knew that Gardner Minshew did not tear his ACL on Dec. 22. It was a bone bruise. Surgery was not necessary.
Adam Schefter is a mouthpiece.
Credit where credit is due. The insider game is not as glamorous as it seems. These guys are constantly on their phone(s) in search of the next big scoop. Sleep is limited. As is time with family and/or friends.
The grind never stops!
With that being said, part of being an insider involves the exchange of favors. You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours. It is important to massage certain relationships. There is an element of quid pro quo.
The latest update about Gardner Minshew from Adam Schefter seems to be the perfect example.
He posted about the ankle injury on Wednesday afternoon as if it was new news even though the only new information is that he “already is back to full strength.” That was it. Everything else was made public more than five weeks ago. His ACL was not torn.
This begs the question: Who asked Schefter to post this?
It certainly seems to me like an agent got him to push this out to help dispel any injury concerns before free agency. Somebody asked him to make this post as a favor. He did. The “report” focused around information that was already more than a month old.
That’s how this whole insider thing works. Schefter is a mouthpiece.