Report: Patriots' Tony Garcia Missed Rookie Season Due To Blood Clots In Lung
BOSTON (CBS) -- For the entirety of the 2017 season, the mystery illness that caused rookie tackle Tony Garcia to miss his rookie season remained just that: a mystery. But the Boston Herald's Jeff Howe has now discovered what ailed Garcia.
Howe reported Thursday that blood clots in Garcia's lungs caused him to miss the 2017 season.
During Super Bowl week, offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia revealed that Garcia lost a significant amount of weight (40 or so pounds), and Howe now reports that the weight loss was tied to the blood clots.
Howe added that Garcia is expected to make a full recovery and has already begun working out.
The Patriots drafted Garcia in the third round of the 2017 draft, with the 85th pick overall. The 6-foot-6 tackle was described as being someone with the talent to be a starting left tackle in the NFL during the draft process, when he was coming out of Troy.
The Patriots ended up not getting any playing time out of their two top picks, as defensive end Derek Rivers -- drafted two spots prior to Garcia --suffered a season-ending injury during the summer.