The status of Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel for Saturday's game against Vanderbilt remains uncertain. While A&M has been tight-lipped about the specifics of Manziel's injury, one NFL personnel executive weighed in on whether playing through the shoulder injury hurts Manziel's 2014 NFL draft stock.
Manziel landed hard on his right shoulder in the fourth quarter of Saturday's 45-41 loss to Auburn. After initially being unable to throw passes on the sideline, he eventually returned to the field and completed 9 of 10 passes for 102 yards and one rushing touchdown.
The reigning Heisman winner was limited in practice on Tuesday. His injured arm was in a sling, which Aggies coach Kevin Sumlin later called "precautionary," and receiver Travis Labhart told reporters the signal caller had been throwing left-handed.
Sumlin declined to go into detail about Manziel's injury, other than he was "hopeful" Manziel would be available for the Vanderbilt game.
The extent of Manziel's injury is unknown. If the injury is severe and requires surgery, the decision whether to play through it could affect where Manziel falls in the draft.
"You take all of that in and weigh everything," the executive told ESPN's Sam Khan Jr. on Thursday. "It all comes down to the doctor's report on the shoulder. Then based on the severity of it, is it recommended to do surgery? If he plays on it, is he going to hurt it worse or anything like that?"
If Manziel does need surgery, the executive said Manziel shouldn't wait. If Manziel postpones surgery and his recovery is hampered by pre-draft preparation, or vice versa, then his NFL stock could be negatively affected.
"That part will hurt him some [if he were to do that]," the executive said. "Before anyone drafts him, they want to see him throw the football. Based on that information, it's hard to trust somebody if you haven't seen them throw. You want to know that shoulder's well and all that kind of stuff."
