Mendenhall has no date set for return

[fordfixer]

Mendenhall has no date set for return
[url="http://www.steelers.com/news/article-1/Mendenhall-has-no-date-set-for-return/f1873d1e-d82f-4314-9a82-b361a6f6d5d9"]http://www.steelers.com/news/article-1/ ... 61a6f6d5d9[/url]
By Teresa Varley - Steelers.com

Posted Feb 14, 2012

Steelers’ running back Rashard Mendenhall saw his 2011 season come to a crashing halt when he tore his ACL in the final game of the season against the Cleveland Browns. It wasn’t the ending he envisioned by a long shot, but Mendenhall dealt with the injury by keeping a positive attitude, looking forward and not back.

“It wasn’t frustrating for me,” said Mendenhall recently. “I believe that everything happens for a reason. My priorities just changed. I was thinking what do I have to do now? What is going to happen? I just focused on getting back and getting healthy.”

Getting fully healthy could take a while. On Monday General Manager Kevin Colbert said that he isn’t sure when Mendenhall will be ready and even indicated the injury could “possibly” keep him sidelined all year.

“Potentially Rashard Mendenhall might not be ready for camp,” said Colbert. “In my mind, I never feel good about an ACL until a year. I am not a doctor but that’s just my mindset. If he gets back before then, to me it’s a bonus. Is he a potential candidate for the PUP List? Absolutely.”

Mendenhall is working his way back, even if it is a slow process. There have been some ups and downs, and for an athlete who is used to doing everything for himself, what he learned was he had to depend on others.

“It was tough,” said Mendenhall. “It wasn’t the pain as much as almost being helpless, having to depend on people, normal things being real hard. It was a tough time but you learn to appreciate the little things.”

The person he has depended on the most is his mother, Sibyl Mendenhall, who stayed in Pittsburgh to help him with the normal things the surgery has prevented him from doing.

“It was really helpful having her around,” said Mendenhall. “It’s been a peaceful time. It would be tough not having someone here. I don’t know what I would do by myself.”

Mendenhall’s normal offseason routine of spending time at home relaxing for a while before getting back in the swing of things has changed to continuous rehab to get the knee back to where he wants it to be.

“It is more rehab now,” said Mendenhall. “All of the pain from the surgery has worn off. It’s now all getting range of motion back and getting back to myself.

“Right now it’s getting full range of motion back, bending the knee, straightening it back, things like that. At this point in time it’s important. You get that back now, you won’t have to worry about it later.”

Mendenhall has not circled a date on the calendar for when he wants to be back. He hasn’t put a timetable on it. He looks at it differently.

“I don’t look at time as much as being 100 percent,” said Mendenhall. “Whenever that happens and I am back to being me that is what is of utmost importance before anything. That is my focus…doing everything I can every day to make sure I will be back to normal.”

[Djfan]

Time to cut our losses and save a buck. FWP proved that an UFA could be very good if the line was there to make him look good.

Oh, and that FB thingy.

[hawaiiansteel]

Mendy is not only going to come back, but he's going to score the winning TD for us in next year's Super Bowl.

you heard it here first...

[anger 82&95]

Time to cut our losses and save a buck. FWP proved that an UFA could be very good if the line was there to make him look good.

Oh, and that FB thingy.

It’s a tough call because I can’t help but wonder if Mendenhall might cut out the “dancing” nonsense if he had a viable FB to run behind. Incidentally, it’s good to see you posting on the forum again.

[Slapstick]

Cutting Mendenhall saves only about a buck...it's probably cheaper to keep him...

[steeler_fan_in_t.o.]

Cutting Mendenhall saves only about a buck...it's probably cheaper to keep him...

It's funny, I have seen conflicting numbers on cutting Mendenhall.

One source states that his 2012 salary is $650K so cutting him does not save us enough to make sense.

Another gives his salary at $2,166,750. If that number is correct - and I believe that it could be, then given his injury, and his upcoming FA status, it may be worthwhile to let him go.

[RuthlessBurgher]

Cutting Mendenhall saves only about a buck...it's probably cheaper to keep him...

It's funny, I have seen conflicting numbers on cutting Mendenhall.

One source states that his 2012 salary is $650K so cutting him does not save us enough to make sense.

Another gives his salary at $2,166,750. If that number is correct - and I believe that it could be, then given his injury, and his upcoming FA status, it may be worthwhile to let him go.

I think the $650K is his salary and the $2.16M is his cap hit, so we'd only save the $650K by cutting him, which wouldn't be close to worth it. I also suspect that the front office values Mendenhall much higher than many on this board.

[steeler_fan_in_t.o.]

Cutting Mendenhall saves only about a buck...it's probably cheaper to keep him...

It's funny, I have seen conflicting numbers on cutting Mendenhall.

One source states that his 2012 salary is $650K so cutting him does not save us enough to make sense.

Another gives his salary at $2,166,750. If that number is correct - and I believe that it could be, then given his injury, and his upcoming FA status, it may be worthwhile to let him go.

I think the $650K is his salary and the $2.16M is his cap hit, so we'd only save the $650K by cutting him, which wouldn't be close to worth it. I also suspect that the front office values Mendenhall much higher than many on this board.

According to Steelers Depot - yes that site, his salary for 2012 is $2,166,750 for a cap hit of $3,427,500.

Their cap info is very detailed and generally reliable.