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© St. Petersburg Times, published August 21, 2002
SAN ANTONIO -- Cowboys receiver Raghib Ismail will have neck surgery today to repair damage from a collision with a teammate last week in practice.
Although he's likely to be out for the season, doctors said he should be able to continue his career.
Cowboys' owner Jerry Jones said Tuesday he wasn't planning on immediately putting Ismail on injured reserve, which would end his season, because he hadn't yet talked to the receiver. But Jones made it clear "we're not planning on him playing this year."
Dr. Dan Cooper described the injury as a huge herniated disk. The problem is made worse by the fact Ismail has a relatively small spinal canal, although Cooper said it's not the same chronic narrowing that contributed to the end of Michael Irvin's career.
Ismail will have the disk removed and the two vertebra around it fused together. The operation will be performed by Dr. Drew Dossett, who was responsible for the same procedure on many pro athletes, including former Cowboys fullback Daryl Johnston.
Johnston's career continued after his operation and Cooper expects Ismail to play again, too. "As long as the surgery is successful and he heals, he could return to football," Cooper said.
The 32-year-old Ismail would have been playing his 10th season, fourth in Dallas. His past two seasons were also marred by injury, including a torn knee ligament in 2000.
"We haven't seen anybody work harder to rehab and come back from his knee surgery, so it's quite a disappointment for him and his wife," Jones said.
The Cowboys were counting on Ismail and Joey Galloway to provide speedy targets in the West Coast-style offense being implemented by new coordinator Bruce Coslet. Rookie Antonio Bryant is likely to replace Ismail in the starting lineup.
Ismail was hurt last Wednesday when linebacker Dat Nguyen kneed him while trying to avoid a collision. Ismail was down for a few minutes, then walked to the locker room with trainers. He did not return to practice and was held out of a preseason game Saturday night.
The Cowboys initially listed the injury as a strain, then became more concerned when he reported tingling and numbness in his arm. He returned to Dallas on Monday for further exams.
Ismail was a star at Notre Dame but has not lived up to that promise in the pros.
He began his career in the CFL, then came to the NFL in 1993 with the Raiders. He didn't become a starter until 1995 and didn't have a 1,000-yard season until 1998, his third year in Carolina after three years with the Raiders.
He parlayed his success with the Panthers into a contract with Dallas and in his first season responded with career highs for catches (80) and yards (1,097). His most memorable moment as a Cowboy probably came in his first game, when he caught a 76-yard touchdown pass from Troy Aikman in overtime to beat the Redskins in Washington.
He had 53 catches for 834 yards and two touchdowns last season.
"We thought Rocket was probably our most productive offensive player last year," Jones said.
DENVER -- Hold those obituaries about Terrell Davis' playing career.
Because of chronic knee injuries, the Broncos running back was placed on the injured-reserve list Tuesday, which ends his season and more than likely signals the end of his career.
But Davis insisted he was not retiring -- not yet, anyway.
Both Davis and Denver owner Pat Bowlen said the festivities of the past few days -- including Davis' introduction in uniform before Monday night's San Francisco-Denver game and his mile-high salute to the fans -- should not be construed as a retirement announcement.
"As Mr. Bowlen said, this is not a retirement party," Davis said Tuesday. "I'm going to do everything I can possibly do to see if I can return to the field again."
He admitted, however, that "barring a miracle, from what I'm hearing, this is it."
Since rushing for 2,008 yards and winning the league's MVP award in 1998, Davis has played in only 17 games the last three seasons. A succession of knee operations -- along with a diagnosis of degenerative arthritis in both knees -- clouded his future.
After the latest flareup in his left knee -- which he calls his "good" knee -- Davis asked the Broncos to put him on injured reserve. He kept the door open to a possible return, however.
"Unfortunately I'm in the situation that I'm in right now, but I'm at peace with it," he said. "I've had time to think about it. I've had time to think about what my options are. This didn't come as a total surprise to me because of the situation I was going through for the past three years.
"It's sort of crept into my mind about the possibilities of never playing this game again. You have to prepare yourself for that in life, and I think I have."