Crabtree Says He Won't Need Foot Surgery

The draft stock of two-time Biletnikoff Award winner Michael Crabtree took an apparent hit Saturday when his physical at the NFL scouting combine turned up a stress fracture in his left foot.

NFL sources said Crabtree, the former Texas Tech star, would need surgery to place a pin in his foot and would be sidelined for 10 weeks. That would put him out of action until early May - and the draft is April 25. So Crabtree would not be able to provide NFL teams with a clocking in the 40-yard dash. NFL teams are paranoid about drafting a player without his full workout numbers - and speed is a minor concern about Crabtree.

But the Tech All-American bristled at the report. Crabtree said he did not plan to have surgery and that he planned on running a 40 at his private workout March 26.

"I don't know where that report came from," Crabtree said. "It stress fracture has been there for about a year and it's never caused me any pain. I can play with it the rest of my life. It won't stop me from running. I'm going to run."

Crabtree was rated as the best wide receiver in the 2009 draft and a potential top-five pick. But his ability to run - and run fast - will determine how high he goes in the first round. One NFL observer said it is not a major setback.

"It's still very early in the process," Buffalo Bills vice president of personnel Tom Modrak said. "Those that really get a guy are when it's late, right before the draft, because then NFL teams don't have a chance to examine it close enough.

"But if you need additional medical information now, you have time to get it. You have time to satisfy yourself."

Others felt the stress fracture causes a red flag.

"He's not going to play any time soon, as I see it," Chicago Bears coach Lovie Smith said. "It's not a career-ending injury or anything like that. He's a good football player. He has got plenty of time to get well. I don't think it'll hurt him a lot."

Crabtree played two seasons at Texas Tech before deciding to skip his final two seasons of eligibility to turn pro. He leaves Tech as the school's all-time leading receiver with 231 catches and ranks eighth in NCAA history with 41 touchdown receptions despite playing just 26 games.

Crabtree won the Biletnikoff Award as the nation's top receiver each of the two years he played for the Red Raiders and became the first repeat winner since it was established in 1994. He also earned All-America honors the past two seasons.

As a freshman, Crabtree caught 134 passes for 1,962 yards and 22 TDs - all national bests and NCAA freshman records.