Peter McCabe/CFL.ca
MONTREAL — When the doctors told S.J. Green he may never play football again, at first he believed it. Then, the 11-year veteran simply refused to allow it to happen.
“When you hear those types of things it’s devastating,” said Green. “It puts you in a state of mind to like, I don’t know if I’m going to be able to get back to who I was before.
“But that was also my motivation to try to get back to who I was. I’ve been busting my ass to try to get to that point.”
Eight months into his timeline and S.J. Green has almost reached that point. The 31-year-old says he’s planning on being cleared for training camp at the end of May, well ahead of the team’s season-opening game on June 22 vs. Saskatchewan.
Green suffered a catastrophic knee injury on June 30 last year, tearing his ACL, MCL, PCL and meniscus on the same play during a Week 2 matchup with the Ottawa REDBLACKS. He went under the knife a month later.
While only surgery could repair the ACL, the meniscus only needed to be shaved down and the MCL healed itself before surgery. The PCL, meanwhile, was in the same state it had been in since 2012, when Green sprained it in a game against the Ticats — he’s played on it ever since without issue.
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S.J. Green was just in his second game when he suffered a season-ending injury in 2016 (Jason Halstead/CFL.ca)
In short, the injury wasn’t as bad as initially feared and things are coming along well.
“In a worst-case scenario I got the best-case scenario,” said Green. “I’ve just been working on my ACL, just trying to strengthen up the areas around it and making sure I have the support I need.
“I’m working hard, taking it one day at a time — trying to not get too far ahead of myself. We’ll have to see how I react when I get to training camp, which I think I’ll be fine. We’ll play it by ear and see how it goes.”
Since entering the league with the Als in 2007, Green has consistently been one of the CFL’s elite receivers. He eclipsed 800 receiving yards six straight seasons from 2011 through 2015, going over the 1,000-yard mark in four of them. In 2013, Green recorded a career-high 1,197 yards to go with 13 touchdowns.
But after winning Grey Cups in 2009 and 2010 and being named a CFL East Division All-Star five seasons and counting, he was reduced to spectator in 2016.
The South Florida graduate returned home to rehab alongside injured Lions receiver Nick Moore, who also suffered a season-ending knee injury early in 2016.
Green has documented his rehab thoroughly on Twitter.
In due time pic.twitter.com/ULzLbkduEr
— SJ Green (@SJ19_19SJ) January 31, 2017
“In due time,” Green tweeted along with a video on Jan. 30, in which he’s seen running routes and making cuts with a brace on his right knee.
The Brandon, Fla. native has also drawn inspiration from others that have gone through similar injuries.
“The season after Jordy Nelson has ACL surgery, this is what he does! #whynotme #induetime,” he tweeted, referring to the Packers receiver ranking third in the NFL with 1,257 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns in 2016.
The last eight months have challenged S.J. Green unlike ever before. Yet the most painful part of it all might have been that helpless feeling he had while his team fell apart at the seams.
While the Als tied for second in the East with Hamilton, they also endured a 4-11 run. Then there were scraps in practice, a coaching change and a major roster shakeup in the month of October.
“I saw the carousel, it was like a circus going on here,” said Green. “It was tough to watch. Not to say I could have made that much more of a difference being in the locker-room but you can have some type of effect on it if you’re there.
“To watch it unfold, it was just embarrassing for the organization. But at the same time, young guys have got to learn.”
Green’s absence certainly didn’t aid the situation. While the Als started the season 1-0, his injury coincided with the tailspin. Green’s teammate and veteran running back/returner Stefan Logan says the Als just weren’t the Als without S.J.
“We needed that captain on the field,” said Logan. “Of course we had Nik Lewis but he was from Calgary. It’s different having a captain from another team coming to a team that’s established. S.J. had been here for 10 seasons, that’s his team. When we come in, he’s the leader, we follow his lead.
“He’s doing a lot better so we look forward to having him. I can’t wait to get back on the field, he’s a great guy for the team and we enjoy being around him.”
S.J. Green will return to the lineup to see a much different-looking Alouettes roster in 2016 (Montreal Alouettes)
With Green’s return and a new direction for the franchise — the Alouettes named Jacques Chapdelaine their permanent head coach and Kavis Reed their new general manager this off-season — there’s renewed optimism in Montreal going into 2017.
Green said he could feel the tide turning when Chapdelaine took over for Jim Popp on the sideline late last season, his all-business approach leading the team to three straight wins to close out the season.
Reed, meanwhile, has gone out and changed the team on the field, getting a franchise quarterback the team hasn’t had since Anthony Calvillo, a six-time CFL All-Star in Jovan Olafioye and last year’s East Division Most Outstanding Player in Ernest Jackson to upgrade the offence.
Green said he’s always wanted the chance to play for Darian Durant, a proven winner and already an all-time legend in Saskatchewan. Add that to a possible final farewell season for Nik Lewis and he can’t help feeling there might be something special in the making.
“I feel like this is going to be a legendary season,” said Green. “You’ve got a legend in Darian Durant, you’ve got a legend in Nik Lewis. I’m working to make myself a legend at some point in my career.
“I think we just have the nucleus of a group of good guys that care about the game, that care about other people. I think that’s where it starts.”
And as he works his way towards that long-awaited return, Green says the mindset is simple.
“Finish the season healthy and dominate, man,” said Green. I just want to dominate and be my normal self.
“Catch everything they throw and be a force to be reckoned with, like I have been.”
