aufan57 922 Posted June 4, 2017 Share Posted June 4, 2017 Quote Saints defensive tackle Nick Fairley has been absent from Organized Team Activities this week, and according to Jennifer Hale of Fox Sports, it's because Fairley recently underwent tests that show heart trouble that could jeopardize his career. That's scary news for Fairley and bad news for a Saints defense that ranked 27th in total defense in 2016. The former first-round pick of the Detroit Lions (13th overall) in 2011 is coming off his best season as a pro. Fairley started all 16 games for the Saints last season and racked up a career-best 6.5 sacks and 29 tackles. The Saints rewarded Fairley this offseason with a four-year, $28 million contract. Saints players who speak to Fairley regularly haven't been able to get in touch with him, according to Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports. Fairley joined the Saints last season after a season with the St. Louis Rams following four seasons in Detroit. http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/saints-nick-fairley-reportedly-has-a-career-threatening-heart-condition/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aufan57 922 Posted June 26, 2017 Author Share Posted June 26, 2017 Nick has been placed on the non-football illness/reserve list by the Saints. Will miss the 2017 season. Quote Nick Fairley will officially miss the 2017 season with a heart condition that he has been seeking help for throughout the offseason. Fairley has sought out various doctors for opinions on the condition, but the Saints were forced to put him on the non-football illness/reserve list Monday. His playing career may also be in jeopardy past the season. New Orleans signed Fairley to a four-year, $28 million contract with $14 million guaranteed in March. Fairley has been dogged by issues both off and on the field since being drafted in the first round by the Detroit Lions in 2011. After a stint with the the Los Angeles (then St. Louis) Rams, he was one of the few bright spots that the Saints saw defensively in 2016. Fairley notched 6.5 sacks and 43 tackles on a one year deal, earning the contract that the Saints gave him this offseason. It's a big blow to a defense that can't deal with many more blows to begin with, and the Saints will have to improvise to fill the hole in their line. By placing Fairley on NFI list, the Saints are granted the option of not paying out his deal. More pressingly, however, is his general health and career past this season. After consulting at least three doctors, at least one of which advised he shouldn't play football again, Fairley's future has been cast in question. This all arose after the Saints signed him in March, when a doctor performing a physical on him noticed an irregularity in Fairley's heartbeat. As he's now 29-years-old, missing a year on the wrong side of 30 rarely bodes well for an NFL player coming back at all, let alone coming back the same player. Link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
augolf1716 21,096 Posted June 26, 2017 Share Posted June 26, 2017 Smart move Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aufan57 922 Posted June 26, 2017 Author Share Posted June 26, 2017 Quote The two-time Auburn signee will not participate in the 2017 NFL season due to a heart condition, but he's already cemented his legacy as a massive success. Jake Roth/USA TODAY Sports Nick Fairley often coasted as a youngster. The Mobile native played basketball and football in high school, but wasn't awesome at either one. He was big. He was quick. He was a friendly dude who liked to be liked. Yet he never put one ounce of thought into playing sports beyond high school until Tommy Tuberville talked Fairley into accepting a sign-and-place agreement. "He wasn't going to college," Tuberville said. That's the guy who signed with Auburn in 2007 — a three-star guard whose academic shortcomings guaranteed a trip to junior college and whose desire to complete two years of junior college wasn't particularly strong. Over the course of the next three years, however, Fairley re-tooled himself. He became a defensive tackle because that's what he grew to want. He became a savage on the field because that's what he grew to need. He played with more passion because that's what felt right. Fairley turned himself into a first-round draft pick and a multimillionaire through hard work and realizing that football was something that seized his interest and never let go. He willed his way to success. That says a lot about a person. It's a statement that cannot be erased. Fairley's life changed Monday when several national news outlets reported that his heart condition, which was identified before the Detroit Lions drafted him 13th overall in 2011, is expected to keep him off the field this season. His playing career may be over. The next few months will be difficult for Fairley because, well, everything was trending in the right direction. After a so-so season with the Lions in 2014 and again with the St. Louis Rams in 2015, the defensive tackle set career highs in tackles (43) and sacks (6.5) last year with the New Orleans Saints. His play with the Saints compelled the team to sign Fairley to a four-year, $30 million extension just a few months ago. Though the new deal doesn't include much guaranteed money, Fairley already has earned approximately $17 million playing professional football. If money is the barometer, Fairley is a success. Yet that's not the real story here. Fairley wasn't destined to be a great player. He enrolled at Copiah-Lincoln Community College without any understanding of time management and redshirted his first season, which allowed him to focus on academics. He made it through to Auburn, though, because he learned to enjoy football and wanted to see how far he could go. His first season at Auburn was average — starting two games and finishing with 28 tackles as a reserve. His second season couldn't have unfolded much better as Fairley won the Lombardi Award as college football's best interior lineman and set school records for tackles for loss and sacks in a season. A star was born. Fairley was overshadowed in 2010 by Cam Newton, which was both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because Fairley entered the season almost anonymously and that minimized pressure to perform. A curse because, well, Newton is the guy with the Heisman Trophy and the bronze statue outside Jordan-Hare Stadium. Fairley is more of a thinking man's hero; the man behind The Man. Though Newton deserves all the adulation he's received — the quarterback is, by any measure, one hell of a football player — Fairley is at least equally inspiring. He was forced to make wholesale changes to his world view, his day-to-day life, every decision that crossed his path during the course of a regular day. All of those adjustments were made without an ounce of preparation; he hadn't been groomed to become a star. He was going to be just another kid out of Williamson High School without a long-range plan. He instead became one of the greatest players ever to wear the Auburn uniform. If Fairley's career ends here, he's still one of the biggest success stories I've ever encountered, that you've ever encountered. He worked his way to stardom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexava 6,973 Posted June 27, 2017 Share Posted June 27, 2017 i hope he is ok long term. if he plays again that is great. he should be motivated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dallastiger16 1 Posted June 28, 2017 Share Posted June 28, 2017 This is hard to see, especially so soon after losing Quentin Groves. hoping for the best Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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