Jonas Griffith didn’t make the Denver Broncos roster this week. And now he faces something that jeopardizes his football future: another ACL surgery.
Griffith announced on Instagram Friday night that he will have a second ACL surgery in the last 13 months, following the ACL repair last August that was necessitated by tearing the ACL during practice. The upcoming surgery will be on the same knee, Griffith wrote in his post.
“As I prepare for my 2nd ACL surgery on the same knee in the last year part of me questions, “Why would this happen to me again?” and the other part of me knows that God wouldn’t give me anything in life that I couldn’t handle,” Griffith wrote on Instagram.
“I’m heartbroken, angry and confused especially knowing I didn’t skip any steps during my recovery to get to this point. I also know that my story with football is far from over and I will be a better me because of this challenge. I am healthy(for the most part) I have so much love in my corner and I’m alive! There’s still so much to be thankful for and there are others going through more difficult things! Thank you for all the thoughts and prayers.”
Griffith practiced and played throughout the offseason and preseason, including during last Sunday’s preseason finale. He was in the mix to start at inside linebacker next to Alex Singleton, splitting time on the first team with Cody Barton — and, occasionally, Levelle Bailey, who passed through waivers on Friday and is expected to be placed on the practice squad.
Griffith’s work this spring and summer came after he tore his ACL last August, ending his 2023 season before it began. He was attempting to come back from a foot injury that scuttled his 2022 season after 9 games, 8 of which he started.
Sadly for Jonas Griffith, the odds are not in his favor regarding a potential return. If he were to return to action, it would come no earlier than September 2025 — nearly 34 months after his last regular-season game, which was against the Tennessee Titans in November 2022.
Few players return after such a lengthy absence.
