More on Jerry Porter's surgery

The first question that should come to your mind regarding recent news about the hamstring surgery of Jaguars receiver Jerry Porter is "why wasn't the surgery done sooner?"

The answer to that question is the Jaguars held out hope Porter's hamstring would heal on its own, according to Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio.

"You never go straight to surgery," Del Rio said. "This was not that kind of automatic-surgery situation. We were hoping it would heal and it didn't. Everybody did what they thought was right."

According to Del Rio, the club had been monitoring Porter's injury closely since it was first diagnosed back in May. Because the club considered the hamstring ailment to be a minor strain, it expected it to heal on its own with the help of rest and treatment.

Porter's hamstring was healing, but not to the receiver's satisfaction. So Porter consulted with reknowned orthopedic surgeon James Andrews, who later performed the surgery at his Birmingham, Ala. headquarters.

Basically, the surgery was a "cleanout procedure." Team officials described Porter's hamstring tendon as having frayed ends, which delayed the natural healing process. To facilitate faster recovery, Del Rio said, Andrews basically snipped the ends and re-attached the tendon.

"We're glad to have a better understanding of what we're dealing with," Del Rio said. "It's been addressed. Now it's just a matter of rest and rehab. It's good news, if you can call it that."