It turns out that Jeremy Shockey’s injury wasn’t the typical sports hernia.
Payton said he’s hopeful that Shockey could be back as early as the Saints’ home game against Oakland in two weeks after positive reports from Shockey’s hernia surgery earlier this week. The damage to Shockey’s ligaments wasn’t as extensive as some sports hernias can be, so the recovery time should be in the three-week range.
Payton said Shockey feels more comfortable already and said he is excited to see Shockey when he’s no longer limited by the nagging injury.
“Although he played well last week, you guys haven’t seen what I know (he’s capable of),” Payton said.
The original estimate had Shockey missing 3-6 weeks, so if he returns in Week 6, he would have only missed two games. Some impatient fantasy owners have cut ties with the tight end, so if he’s out there on your waiver wire, you’d be wise to snatch him up.
Amongst tight ends, he is fourth in average targets per game (6.7) behind Tony Gonzalez (10.0), Kellen Winslow (10.0) and Jason Witten (9.0). Half the battle for a tight end is getting enough targets to be productive, and it’s clear that Payton feels that he’s a big part of the Saints’ attack.
