Just as the earliest training camp footage has begun leaking and the excitement of the upcoming NFL season has started revving up, one player’s season has come to an abrupt pause.
And while that may not be a terribly uncommon reality in the injurious world of professional football, this particular player’s heart diagnosis was an aggressively uncommon one for the sport.
Denver Broncos wide receiver KJ Hamler announced on his Instagram that his season was officially being put on hiatus while he addressed the cause of his recent “chest pains.”
“After feeling some chest pains while working out on the break before camp started, I got everything checked out and was diagnosed with mild heart irritation, called pericarditis,” Hamler posted. “I’ve got a great treatment plan with medicine and am taking a quick break to get this all taken care of so I can get back to doing what I love.”
Hamler added that it was “tough to deal with this” because he was “ready for a breakout year.”
The 24-year-old receiver also reminded “anyone with chest pains” to “get checked out by your doctor.”
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While Hamler seemed rather upbeat, or at least relatively dismissive, about the pericarditis diagnosis, the Denver Broncos felt it was enough of an issue to waive the young receiver — though with a bit of a caveat.
In what KUSA’s Mike Klis is reporting as a “procedural move,” it appears a formality that Hamler will make his way back to the Broncos, or to another team, sometime this year:
In a procedural move, KJ Hamler will appear on today’s wire as waived/non-football illness. However, the door is open for his return to the Broncos or any team early this season.
His heart treatment is via medicine, not thru a surgical procedure. #9sports— Mike Klis (@mikeklis) July 31, 2023
“In a procedural move, KJ Hamler will appear on today’s wire as waived/non-football illness. However, the door is open for his return to the Broncos or any team early this season,” Klis posted to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
Klis added that Hamler’s treatment would be “via medicine” and not via “surgical procedure.”
According to the Mayo Clinic, pericarditis is generally highly treatable, but complications can lead to issues such as fluid buildup and the thickening and scarring of heart tissue. Pressure buildup can also lead to life-threatening complications.
As scary as heart issues can potentially be, Hamler’s outlook is positively rosy compared to his fellow Broncos receiver Tim Patrick, whom Klis reported has suffering from a fully torn Achilles tendon, completely knocking him out for the year.
Per source, MRI revealed Tim Patrick suffered a complete tear of Achilles. Out for year again. Awful. #9sports
— Mike Klis (@mikeklis) July 31, 2023
On top of those injuries, the Broncos are already experiencing plenty of other off-field tumult, with new head coach Sean Payton recently picking a verbal fight with the New York Jets.
Sean Payton also took a shot at the #Jets. He says the only wining they’re going to have is in the offseason.
“We’re not doing any of that. The Jets did that this year. You watch. ‘Hard Knocks,’ all of it. I can see it coming.”
Broncos vs. Jets in Week 5. 🍿🍿 https://t.co/TLpH4bguxJ
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) July 27, 2023
Payton’s derogatory remarks about the Jets drew a swift rebuke from both Jets head coach Robert Saleh and new Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers, setting the stage for an early must-see match-up between the already-banged up Broncos and the Jets in Week 5 of the upcoming season.
