Jalen Ramsey injury: How long will Jaguars first rounder be out?

Now that the initial panic over the knee injury to Jacksonville Jaguars first round pick Jalen Ramsey has run it's course and subsided, we can actually look at a rational approach to his knee injury and what it means. I'll say first off, I firmly believe Jalen Ramsey will be full-go by the time Week 1 of the 2016 season rolls around, and barring anything shockingly unforeseen in his second opinion of the knee, that should be the case.

Ramsey suffered what is being described as a minor tear of the meniscus in his knee. Depending on the location of the meniscus tear in Ramsey's knee he could be back as soon as a month, or as long as three months. If the tear is on the outside of the meniscus where there is no real blood flow (the hard end) than typically the procedure is to shave down the meniscus to prevent discomfort, and players are typically back on the field within around four weeks time.

If it's the more severe case, with a tear where there is blood flow and there needs to be more than just a simple scope, it can take, in the very worst case scenario, four-to-six months. Typically however, a professional athlete of Ramsey's level will return in around three months time.

Training camp opens for the Jaguars in roughly nine weeks, at the end of July. The first preseason game for the Jaguars is August 11, and the team opens the regular season at home against the Green Bay Packers on Sept. 11. Even if you look at the worse end spectrum for Ramsey's recover, it puts the season opener around the three month mark for his return. As mentioned though, I would be surprised if it's on that end of the spectrum.

It's understandable the panic that coursed through Jaguars fans on Thursday when the news came down, because of what happened to Dante Fowler Jr. last season, causing him to miss his entire rookie year. This injury for Ramsey however isn't anywhere close to that. The expectation is Ramsey will play, a lot, during the 2016 season.

It is also worth mentioning, Ramsey's injury shouldn't have any bearing on his signing. He's going to get just over $23 million total with just over $15 million guaranteed based on the NFL's rookie slotting system and he will sign that deal, regardless of the injury.