The Colts Drafted a Player Who Was Once "Medically Retired", Told By 5 Doctors He Would Never Play Football Again

So I just got done doing the En Eff El draft show. As the #389 Colts fan on the internet, naturally Barstool chose me to come on and share my expertise along with Colts legend and 2024 NFL Hall of Fame inductee Dwight Freeney. Also Vibbs. From a remote location I decided to go with my signature ghostly serial killer look.

Unfortunately, Dwight Freeney and Vibbs didn't get the memo that we were doing a whiteout this year. But that's ok. I won't hold it against them.

Going into the 15th pick, I was fully expecting a cornerback. In hindsight, I don't know why that was. The Colts draft was a mystery to everyone. But throughout the course of the night I had convinced myself that was the direction we were going. I was very nervous they would draft the white cornerback Cooper Dejean. He was the #1 corner on the board, But a white cornerback is unprecedented since the year 1896. It would have looked too strange on the field. I just would have assumed he was about to be cooked every time he lined up in man.

But that's not the direction the Colts went whatsoever. The Colts went with an edge rusher. Laiatu Latu out of UCLA. I can't say I knew a thing about him heading into the draft. If you're playing college football on the west coast and you're not on a top 10 team you might as well be invisible to me. In the research I did today, at no point did Latu make his way on my list of potential Colts draft picks. But either way, that's who we drafted. Here's some tape that I'm watching for the very first time.

Looks pretty damn good to me. Can't be upset with that tape. Welcome to Colts Nation, Laiatu #neigh.

However, as we were discussing the pick on the En Eff El draft show, Steven Cheah casually drops that Latu was once "medically retired" by the University of Washington. Then everyone just breezed past that comment like it was no big deal. But I couldn't get past it. Medically retired? That sounds terrible. That sounds like another way to say "dead". Later on I asked Steven Cheah to clarify what the hell happened to Laiatu Latu to make him medically retire, and Cheah told us he had terrible neck problems.

Again, not what you want to hear. I can't say I was thrilled at that moment. However, now that I've looked into his story, it appears the doctors were just… wrong. Shocking I know. 

Sports Illustrated - Eighteen months ago, former UW coach Jimmy Lake opened his first spring practice press briefing by announcing that Latu had medically retired. Or to be more accurate, the school had retired him. 

No one in the Seattle-are media had any idea that Latu's career had come into question, only that he was injured and been unable to play in the Huskies' four-game, pandemic-restricted season.

A somber Lake told how the school arranged for Latu to meet with five specialists nationwide, who in a consensus opinion determined it was not safe for him to play again. He had suffered numbness in his neck that wasn't alleviated by surgery. The medical personnel suggested Latu risked being paralyzed if he continued playing football.

"We exhausted every professional we could think of to make sure this was the proper decision," Lake said at the time.

The coach arranged for Latu to come to UCLA, but under certain restrictions. He met with the training staff and was prescribed exercises to strengthen his neck. If he was able to play football again, Latu was encouraged to tackle without using his head.

In the Bruins' spring practice, he was limited to individual drills. Yet at the end of April before the drills wrapped up, Latu received a doctor's clearance to play again. 

So I guess that's it. Five doctor's told the guy he could never play football again. If he did he would surely paralyze himself. But Laiatu Latu said, "Actually you're wrong, I'm going to do some physical therapy, get my neck right, and become one of the best edge rushers in the country.

It's still a little concerning. But the guy sounds like a warrior. He defied the odds and became the 15th pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. According to all current reports, he's perfectly healthy. No longer are there concerns about his neck. I'd have to imagine his injury history still caused some teams to pass on him. Which now I'm thinking could be a good thing. If the neck injury made him drop in the draft, then he may have top 5 talent. If he never had the neck injury, you gotta think he would have been picked higher. His potential is probably off the charts. He was certainly a beast at UCLA. In the 2022 season he had 36 tackles and 10.5 sacks (played 13 games). Last year he racked up 49 tackles, 13 sacks, and 2 interceptions (played 12 games). So everything appears to be fine. He's stay on the field for 2 straight season. 

Fuck a medical retirement. Fuck the 5 doctors who told him he would never play again. Laiatu Latu sounds like a monster. The Colts need an edge rusher. I'm here for the pick. Congratulations Laiatu. So you defied the odds and you're about to have a hell of a career in the NFL. Go Colts.