Dr. Steve O'Brien On WFAN: Jets Are Making 'Colossal Mistake' With Osemele

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The standoff between Kelechi Osemele and the Jets continued Friday, as the offensive lineman underwent shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum. While Osemele was told he needed the procedure now, the Jets maintain he should have waited until the offseason.

During an interview with Mike Francesa, Dr. Steve O’Brien said, “the Jets are making a colossal mistake,” for their handling of Osemele.

The surgery ends Osemele’s season and likely, his career with the Jets, but the two sides remain linked through their dispute. Earlier this week, the former All-Pro offensive lineman filed a grievance with the NFL Players Association as the Jets have been fining him the maximum amount for “conduct detrimental to the team” for every day he misses practice.

Dr. O’Brien believes the Jets are not only wronging Osemele, but their handling of the situation could damage relationships, “not just for this player, but for future players, for the confidence of their players and to the NFL.”

“He didn’t like playing hurt, he missed a full 20% of the games in his first four years despite being a first team All-Pro, that’s who is,” O’Brien said regarding Osemele. "He left midseason a couple years ago to have back surgery in November, so this is a fella who’s a different personality, he’s entitled to that.”

While some players can wait until the offseason to repair a torn labrum, doing so can negatively impact on-field performance.

“For an offensive lineman to lose arm (strength) it’s a big deal, he didn’t want to continue on taking toradol he has every right to do that,” Dr. O’Brien added. “I don’t know what games are being played, but you send the wrong message when you have players thought of, not as human beings that have discretion, but as just players, you can’t force them to play through something they don’t want to play through, that’s a big mistake.”

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When asked by Francesa if Darnold’s poor performance against the Patriots could have anything to do with the quarterback's diagnosis of mononucleosis earlier this season, Dr. O’Brien said he didn’t know, but is worried Jets' players are feeling pressured to return to the field.

“The best coaches and the best management all they do is say, 'tell me when he’s ready,' they don’t try to play doctor they don’t try to push a guy into playing…I’m concerned that the management of the Jets are putting pressure, I don’t know if its overt or covert, but what they did with (Osemele's shoulder injury) is wrong and it's disrespecting the athlete when he shouldn’t be disrespected.”