Smith to go under knife again

Career up in the air as hip surgery looms

By Jeff Legwold, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published December 29, 2007 at 12:45 a.m.

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Rod Smith has now put his football career in the hands of his doctors, fate and the unshakable belief he has done all he can to play as long and as well as he could.

Smith, the Broncos' all-time leading receiver, said Friday he is facing another surgery on the left hip that kept him off the field this season. And it's a decision that also could determine if the Broncos career leader in receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns plays football again.

"It's about evaluating what's best for me long term," he said. "As far as the future, I'm not really sure. I'm not really sure what's going to happen afterward. I'm not sure what the rehab process is like, if it's something I even want to try to do to get back to playing football.

"Honestly, it's hard - it could be the end of my career. My last game as a professional athlete with the Denver Broncos could be this Sunday. That, in itself, is really emotional, and I'm blessed to be here this long."

Smith, in his first extensive public comments about the injury since November, said he is facing an additional surgery, most likely next month, on his troublesome hip because of continuing pain in the joint. And one of the options he is weighing is hip-replacement surgery, which would end his career.

Smith had surgery Feb. 23 to repair what he has described as degenerative damage, a torn labrum, a torn ligament and "some bone spurs in there." He has spent the season on injured reserve, though he did briefly return to the practice field earlier this season, but he has not made enough progress in his rehabilitation to rejoin the roster.

He said in the weeks since he tried to practice in October that the pain had continued, and intensified, and after several visits to doctors, including a specialist in Los Angeles, Smith now is facing another surgery in January.

"Honestly, it feels worse than it did before I had surgery," Smith said. "It's not healed. It's not healed at all. I've been through different procedures and been up to Vail (to the Steadman Hawkins Clinic) several times, trying to figure out a way to get it right."

Smith said the specialist in California has discussed a surgery he termed as a "resurfacing" of the hip joint, or the more invasive joint replacement.

Smith said he had "other doctors looking at some things, too," but he still is trying to gather as much information as he can about his options for repairing what's causing the pain, with an eye toward his long-term health as key consideration.

"I'm not leaning any way, honestly. I'm not leaning one way," Smith said. "But if (hip replacement) is the best way, then that's what it is. . . . That's pretty much an exclamation on a lot of things. So that's the one I want to know everything about it."

Broncos coach Mike Shanahan said he met with Smith on Thursday and Smith discussed what the doctors had told him to this point. Shanahan added he wanted to let Smith speak to the upcoming surgery.

Smith, though unable to play this season, still has tried to be in the locker room as much as possible to be around the team and has attended practice each day as well. This was scheduled to be his 14th year on the field with the team - his first was on the practice squad in 1994 - but a hip that has bothered him since the 2004 season kept him on the sideline instead.

Playing through the pain on the injured hip, Smith went to the Pro Bowl after the 2005 season before struggling last season as the injury worsened, He finished with 52 catches in 2006, his lowest total since 1996.

"And that same tenacity that helped me stay in this league this long is the same thing that takes me out of it," Smith said. "I was always told that you play this game as long as you can, and if I've played my last football game, I did that, I'm OK with that.

"If I could be healthy, I would love to play. . . . My heart wants to be on the football field, I want to be in the game and battling with the rest of the guys, and I can't. As long as (the Broncos) got a check with my name on it, I owe them, and I'm always going to be humbled to that point that I owe this organization, this team, every person that works in this building."

legwoldj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2359

No. 1

Broncos wide receiver Rod Smith is the franchise leader in several areas:

Category Total

Receptions, career 849

Receptions, season 113

Receptions, game 14

Receiving yards, career 11,389

Receiving yards, season 1,602

Receiving touchdowns, career 68

Postseason receptions, career 49

Postseason receiving yards, career 860