Malik Hooker Battling Shoulder Injury
By Andrew Ites
Many NFL teams worried about Malik Hooker’s injury history during the draft process, and the Colts are getting nervous about him being banged up in camp.
Malik Hooker entered the lengthy draft process as a sure fire top-10 prospect, and was even in the top-5 of some analysts’ draft board.
However, he fell to the Colts with the 15th overall pick in the draft when 14 teams decided against selecting one of the best players in this draft class.
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The Colts were totally justified in taking that risk at pick number 15, but Hooker’s injury has begun to rear it’s ugly head before his rookie season has even started.
Hooker tweaked his hamstring during a conditioning test on the first day of training camp, and he has now reportedly missed the last week of practice with a shoulder injury.
Malik Hooker (shoulder) has missed the entire week of practice. A voicemail from a reader this morning called him the next Bob Sanders.
— Zak Keefer (@zkeefer) August 17, 2017
Hooker underwent multiple surgeries this offseason to repair a previous shoulder injury as well as a sports hernia, and it looks like his shoulder has begun to bother him again in camp.
Of his sore shoulder Malik Hooker doesn't seem worried. "I'll be fine," he said. Hopes to return to practice next week.
— Zak Keefer (@zkeefer) August 17, 2017
Missing practice isn’t the end of the world for Hooker as the Colts are most likely being as cautious as they can be with his health. However, Hooker needs to get some reps on the practice field before the regular season in order to make a smooth transition to a position that’s very difficult to learn as a rookie.
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The Colts have already had to bench one of their starting safeties for at least the first six games as Clayton Geathers continues to recover from a serious neck injury.
Matthias Farley or T.J. Green would be the backup options behind Malik Hooker at free safety, but neither of those players inspires much confidence for Colts fans.
It’s premature to call Hooker the next Bob Sanders, but these injuries early in his career have to be concerning.