Missouri Tigers: Shane Ray Might Need Foot Surgery

Shane Ray, the Missouri Tigers‘ best player entering the 2015 NFL Draft, might have to have foot surgery, according to Lance Zierlein of NFL.com. Zierlein tweeted the news out on Wednesday.

I bang the drum for Shane Ray as loudly as anyone, but I'm hearing more and more concerns about his foot and I think he ends up sliding.
— Lance Zierlein (@LanceZierlein) April 22, 2015

Ray was originally slated to be a top 10 pick, but this injury could put him out five months, which more than likely will result in him sliding drastically in the draft. After not being able to participate in the combine, Ray was able to partake in Mizzou’s Pro Day, putting up a 4.64 in the 40-yard dash.

Shane Ray had a pretty darn good season with the Tigers last year, as he had 14 and a half sacks, and was dubbed as the SEC Defensive Player of the Year. Ray decided to forego his senior year at Missouri and enter the 2015 NFL Draft. While this injury won’t help Ray’s draft stock any, he will still be an early round draft choice and could still go sometime in the first round.

Just last week, KC Kingdom’s own Chad Brewster wrote up a scouting report on Shane Ray, and projected him to go eighth overall to the Atlanta Falcons.

"“This would be a good fit for Ray. The Falcons’ defense hasn’t looked great the past few seasons and Shane Ray could be their answer to making a statement on the defensive side of the ball.”"

It’s very unlikely now that Ray will still land with the Falcons, as a team in drafting in the top 10 won’t want to spend their pick on a guy that could potentially be out for five months.

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Todd McShay’s Mock Draft 5.0, which was released on Wednesday (likely before the injury was announced), had Ray going fifth overall to the Washington Redskins. As much as the Redskins could use a guy like Ray in 2015, this injury will likely sway them in a different direction.

Now the good news in all of this is that Zierlein made sure to specify in tweets that Ray “might” need surgery. He said it’s up to the team’s doctors to decide whether surgery is necessary or not.

@MikeOdomSports May need foot surgery. Not saying he "needs" it. That is for each team's doc to decide.
— Lance Zierlein (@LanceZierlein) April 23, 2015

So there you go. A possible silver lining in this situation. Should foot surgery be necessary, Ray will likely see his draft stock drop drastically. If he doesn’t, he could potentially be a top 10 draft choice next Thursday.

Next: Shane Ray Scouting Report

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