After missing all of 2017 due to a lingering knee injury, the New England Patriots took a cautious approach with wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell this offseason. The 24-year old saw only limited action during organized team activities and minicamp and never participated in any full-team drills. The goal, obviously, was to get him ready for training camp while limiting the risk of another injury.
Another part of this approach was the third-year man recently undergoing a minor procedure to determine the cause of his pain and how to best deal with it moving forward. And moving forward Mitchell already does, according to the Providence Journal’s Mark Daniels:
After the procedure on Monday, Malcolm Mitchell is getting better. I’m told he’s still day-by-day. The goal of the procedure was to determine a cause and find a solution for his knee pain. We’ll see if he can get back to the field.
This certainly sounds like an encouraging development for Mitchell and the team when compared to the rather doomy-and-gloomy outlook that was presented just a few days ago: On Monday, after an report that New England was looking to trade away the Georgia product, Daniels noted that Mitchell’s season might be in jeopardy due to his knee problems. While this could still end up being the case, Mitchell getting better certainly is the desired development at the moment when considering the circumstances.