As you no doubt have heard, Shawne Merriman of the San Diego Chargers has chosen to forgo surgery on his left knee in order to play football this season. He has two torn ligaments: the posterior cruciate and lateral collateral ligaments, and four separate doctors have advised him to pack it in for the season and have surgery, otherwise he risks career-ending damage to the knee. Merriman says his decision comes from a pact he made, a goal to compete at the highest level and help the Chargers win the Superbowl this season. I admire his courage, but as someone who has personally torn two ligaments in his left knee I want to tell Merriman that he is an idiot.

Granted, the ligaments I tore were the anterior cruciate and the medial collateral (on top of a meniscus) and my sport was basketball. And Merriman is a powerful guy with loads of muscle in those legs to “protect” those damaged tissues. But one of the things you lose with this kind of an injury is explosiveness, which is integral to playing linebacker in the NFL. Merriman himself will tell you it takes explosiveness to break through the O-line and sack the QB, and even more explosiveness to track down a halfback. I’ll be rooting for him, but I just don’t think he’s going to have that, and thus his numbers will suffer. And when your numbers suffer in the NFL, the GM takes notice and says goodbye to your services.

This is not to mention the risk of career-ending damage to his knee. Merriman has 39 1/2 sacks in 3 seasons, which is the most in the NFL over that span (ahead of the dancing Jason Taylor). He is the most dominant defensive player in the NFL because of his involvement on every down as a linebacker. He will not be dominant injured, and he will not be dominant if he never plays again. Listen to me Merriman: you don’t mess around with knee injuries. They take time to heal, but you can come back at more than 100%. Shut it down this season. Recover maybe in time for the playoffs (doubtful). Save your future. Running backs know that it’s about getting their own before the wear and tear breaks them down; just ask Stephen Jackson or any other back that has held out. Admirable of you to think team first, but if you really want them to succeed you will step aside for now. As much as it hurts.