Tyrann Mathieu Could be Ready for Season Opener

The image of Tyrann Mathieu's injury is still fresh in our minds. Getting tackled after a routine punt return, getting up slowly, hobbling to the sideline before ultimately collapsing on the sideline against the St. Louis Rams. We all knew what was to come, we knew the pain that would follow, and it came. A torn ACL made worse by an LCL tear. The time table for Mathieu's return was never set, but we all knew it would be some time.

Than came Steve Keims interview with Adam Schein on SiriusXM radio.

"We think there's a chance that he'll be back by the beginning of the season," Keim said.

The key word here is "chance". It's exciting to think that Tyrann Mathieu could play in the season opener against the San Diego Chargers on Monday Night Football. However, will he be starting? That's highly unlikely. Even if Mathieu thinks he is ready to go, it is more than likely that Todd Bowles, and Bruce Arians keep him in a situational and limited role, as to test Mathieu's overall knee strength.

If you follow Mathieu on Twitter, or just read up on his story, you will know that he has been hard at work rehabbing his injured knee. He's beginning to run, and work on very, very, very limited change of direction workouts. In Mathieu's mind, he probably thinks he can do some work in Training Camp. To the trainers and coaches, they'll likely keep him from doing a lot until the weeks surround our third or fourth preseason games.

"I told him, 'Ty, don't listen to anybody because nobody can tell you and pinpoint the exact return date. That's up to you,'" Keim said. "And he's a machine. He's the kind of guy that I really think can come back a lot earlier than people anticipated."

With plenty of time between now and the season opener, it will be interesting to see how this unfolds.

What say you ROTB?