We mentioned back in February of this year that Cole Madison was dealing with some personal issues that resulted in his absence last season. He was close friends with former Washington State quarterback, Tyler Hilinski, who took his own life in early 2018. There was a lot of speculation that this resulted from injuries he sustained from playing football.
It has now come to light that Madison has suffered a torn ACL during practice this week.
Packers News posted a video of Head Coach Matt LaFleur discussing the injury:
Packers head coach Matt LaFleur discusses the severity of offensive lineman Cole Madison's knee injury. https://t.co/ST5zkahpWu
— JSOnline – NewsWatch (@js_newswatch) November 23, 2019
To be clear, Madison does not yet play a pivotal on the team so this is not exactly a big setback for the Packers. While he is on the active roster, he has not lined up for any offensive snaps so far this season. However, it is another chapter in the drama that has been Madison’s short career with the team. He will obviously need surgery and is not likely to be on the field anytime the rest of this season.
No one wants to see someone with an injury like this but, given Cole’s recent personal history, and the fact that he is one of those likable guys with a great attitude, it hurts to see this happen to someone like him. “My heart breaks for him,” coach LaFleur said to the press following Friday’s practice.
In addition to Madison, FB Danny Vitale[knee] and TE Robert Tonyan[hip] are also listed as questionable for the 49ers game Sunday night.