Childs Play

Adrian Peterson's magnificent return from a shredded knee was one of the great stories in the NFL last year. He had one of the greatest seasons ever seen from a running back. Less than a year after his knee came apart he was the NFL's Most Valuable Player. A complete recovery from such an injury had never been seen before. It seems that the Minnesota Vikings training staff was just warming up.

If Peterson's return was considered something close to a miracle, the journey to recovery of receiver Greg Childs may eclipse it. As a junior at Arkansas in 2010, Greg Childs ruptured his right patellar tendon, which controls the four quadriceps muscles and extends to below the kneecap where it is attached to the shinbone. If not for that injury, Childs would likely have been a first or second round pick in the 2012 NFL Draft. Healthy, Greg Childs was a big play, big receiver. 6'3", 220 lbs and fast. Instead, he was something of a wildcard in that 2012 draft. He was good but he wasn't completely back. The Vikings drafted Childs and his grade school, high school, and Arkansas teammate Jarius Wright in the fourth round. Childs and Wright made for a great story entering the 2012 season. The lifelong friends. The small, quick receiver in Wright. The big, fast receiver in Childs. The great story changed before the first week of training camp came to a close. At the Vikings annual scrimmage, Childs went up for the ball. One of the Vikings greatest needs and perhaps Childs' greatest skill is his ability to get deep and go up for the ball. At that scrimmage, Childs went up for the ball and ruptured BOTH patellar tendons.

As far as anyone knows, no NFL player has ever come back from a rupture of both patellar tendons. Vikings trainer Eric Sugarman has seen the attempt to return before. Nineteen years ago he was an intern for the Chicago Bears when receiver Wendell Davis ruptured both patellar tendons when he got his feet stuck in the always dangerous turf of Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Davis never played another down in the NFL. In 2006, Cleveland Browns cornerback Gary Baxter suffered the same injury. He never played another down in the NFL.

Greg Childs has a lot going for him that Davis and Baxter didn't have. Most importantly, time. Surgical techniques and training has improved so much. Vikings team physician Joel Boyd operated on Childs two days after the injury. Boyd found a "looseness" and "tightened" the tendons in Childs' knee. Something that wasn't done in 2010. Hopefully, that will make a difference. Childs also gains greatly with Eric Sugarman overseeing the rehabilitation. Sugarman might be the Vikings MVP. Brad Childress' legacy as the Vikings coach might not be entirely grand but he did everyone an incredible favor when he hired Eric Sugarman in 2006. Vikings players will always be grateful. Chad Greenway, Heath Farwell, E.J. Henderson, Cedric Griffin, and Peterson have all made complete and incredible recoveries from serious injuries under Sugarman's watch. A complete recovery by Greg Childs would be the most incredible. Like Peterson's recovery last year, it would  be a recovery never before seen.

Most important in Childs' recovery is Greg Childs himself. He's attacked it. He was down for only a day or two following the injury and surgery. Since then, he's has been upbeat and relentless. Always with a smile. For the first month and a half after the surgery, Childs had to keep his legs perfectly straight. Then he had to break down the scar tissue. A process more painful than the injury itself. Childs never left Minnesota for warmer places. Through the cold Minnesota winter he was the only player in the Vikings facility. Few gave him a chance to return. Even within the building there were doubts. The team has never once given up hope but they have moved forward as if Childs will never take a meaningful snap. They really have no choice. When the players returned for OTAs, they found their teammate doing things that they never expected to see. They saw something incredible from Peterson last year. They're seeing something perhaps more incredible this year.

Greg Childs says that he's about 90% back. He's running and cutting at full speed. The Vikings have yet to clear him for team activities. He'll likely start training camp on the PUP list. The team did the same last year. They will not make a mistake with this injury.

"One day, when this happens to other guys, they'll have a guideline to go by," Childs said. "They'll be able to say, 'OK, just because I tore both of mine, look at that guy Greg Childs. He worked his butt off and did what they said couldn't be done."

Greg Childs will be back. I just hope that it's the end of incredible injury recoveries for the Minnesota Vikings.