Poor Daniel Sepulveda. It looked as though the punter's career could have ended Dec. 5 when the ACL in his right knee tore for the third time since his final season at Baylor in 2006 and for the second time in three seasons with the Steelers. What's more, he was an unrestricted free agent entering 2011.
But surgeon Jim Bradley suggested an adjustment before he repaired Sepulveda's plant leg nine months ago.
"I have a naturally hyperextended knee; it bows backward," Sepulveda said. "I wouldn't say it's double-jointed. It just goes farther back than normal."
When Bradley fixed it in December, he allowed for that natural bow whereas previous surgeries did not, which is why Sepulveda thinks the ACL kept tearing.
"It wouldn't let me go back, and I think my body fought against that because it's just my natural physiology."