Well, it's back and I'm really, really sorry.
According to Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald, sophomore wide receiver Aaron Dobson had to undergo surgery to repair the stress fracture in his foot. He originally injured it in the regular season against Denver, before reinjuring it in the season finale against Buffalo.
The hope was that his foot would heal naturally and that he'd be ready to participate in the off-season camps and training. With this surgery, his timetable for healing has extended two to three months and into the month of June.
While no one wants to overreact to this news, it's always disheartening to see a young player injured. With the Patriots history of drafting wide receivers, we all want Dobson to be a success and we hope that this won't have a lasting effect on his growth.
Dobson was originally planning to train with Tom Brady in California over the off-season, but that's clearly going to have to wait. Let's hope Josh Boyce, Kenbrell Thompkins, and Danny Amendola all make the trip to the west coast.
As Dobson is now more of a question mark than before, look for the Patriots to sign a low- or mid-tier veteran in free agency who can take his place in the off-season.