Robert Mathis Injury: Updates on Colts LB's Achilles and Recovery

Robert Mathis, who tore his Achilles in September and missed the entire 2014 NFL season for the Indianapolis Colts, could still be facing an uphill climb as he attempts to rehabilitate the injury.    

Mike Wells of ESPN.com responded to a fan's question about Mathis' return from an Achilles injury, noting that "he did suffer a slight setback":

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Some have mentioned how Baltimore's Terrell Suggs was able to recover quickly from his torn Achilles. Suggs tore his in April 2012 and was back on the field by Oct. 21 of that same year. ESPN.com Ravens reporter Jamison Hensley said Suggs wasn't back to his explosive ways until the following season. Suggs was also only 29 years old when he suffered the injury. It's unknown what type of player Mathis will be once he returns to the field for the Colts. 

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However, Mathis' agent denied he had a setback, per NFL.com's Chris Wesseling:

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Agent Hadley Engelhard has assured NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport that Mathis' rehab from a September Achilles' tendon tear is going fine and there has been no setback.

Mathis is still hoping to participate in at least a portion of OTAs, per Rapoport.

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Mathis has certainly had a roller-coaster ride in the past two years or so. In the 2013 season he led the NFL with 19.5 sacks and added an impressive eight forced fumbles, but he was also suspended four games last May for violating the league's substance-abuse policy. He was then lost for the entirety of the 2014 season due to the Achilles injury.

For his career, Mathis has registered 367 tackles, 111 sacks and 48 forced fumbles. He's spent all 12 of his years in the NFL with the Colts.

While the Colts can't expect to get back the same player who dominated the league in 2013, adding another rusher off the edge like Mathis in 2015 would be a major boost to the defense. The worry now, of course, will be that Mathis never fully recovers from this latest injury and that the normal wear and tear that comes from aging takes its toll. 

It's a long road to recovery for Mathis, indeed.