Green Bay Packers tight end Jermichael Finley is tucked away on injured reserve with his playing career in question after suffering a spinal contusion last month in a game against the Cleveland Browns.
After NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport reported in October that surgery remained an option for the 26-year-old pass-catcher, former Packers tight end Mark Chmura told WAUK-AM on Monday that Finley plans to go under the knife this week.
"I will give you a little snibbet," Chmura said. "I got a chance to talk to Jermichael Finley before the game, and I would bet my bottom dollar his career's over. Over. He needs surgery, and it's herniated in (the C3 and C4 vertebrae) ... He's definitely not gonna play in Green Bay, I'd put my house on that."
Said Chmura: "I believe he's undergoing surgery on Thursday. ... He literally could not move his neck."
It's a worst-case scenario for Finley, who becomes a free agent this offseason and faces an uncertain-at-best future with the Packers.
He made his way back from a 2010 torn meniscus, but neck injuries are a different beast. Finley has been relatively quiet about his recovery, but Rapoport noted last month that doctors believed at the time that Finley would play again.
We'll find out soon enough, and we wish Finley the best.
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