What was the challenge?

Jack ruptured his Achilles tendon during the final game of the 2025 regular season. After surgery and approximately seven months of rehab at other facilities, he still wasn’t confident in his progress or return-to-play timeline.

He struggled with:

• Understanding where he was in the recovery process

• Knowing what was required to safely return to elite-level play

• Strength deficits, especially in eccentric load and power through the Achilles/soleus complex

Despite access to high-level resources through the NFL, his path forward wasn’t clear — and uncertainty became a major barrier.

What was our process?

We began by creating clarity.

Step 1: Precise Assessment

Jack underwent:

• A full ankle and lower-extremity mobility evaluation

• Strength testing across all planes

• Advanced force-plate analysis measuring:

  • Peak force

  • Rate of force development

  • Eccentric deceleration capacity

  • Soleus-specific metrics

  • Impulse and symmetry data

We identified that mobility loss was minor, but explosive strength, stiffness, and eccentric tolerance through the Achilles and soleus needed significant improvement.

Step 2: Strength and Progression

His program included:

• Max-intensity isometrics to drive tendon stiffness and impulse

• Progressive heel-raise loading in multiple joint angles

• Split-stance strengthening

• Heavy sled pushes for positional transfer

• Soleus- and rate-of-force-specific drills

• Down-regulation and mobility work to support recovery

As progress accelerated, sessions increasingly resembled NFL-caliber lower-body performance training, while remaining rooted in measurable rehab milestones.

Step 3: Data-Driven Progression

Every session tracked key performance indicators including:

• Dorsiflexion ROM

• Soleus peak force

• Eccentric deceleration thresholds

• Force symmetry

• Rate of force development

These metrics guided decision-making, ensured safety, and replaced uncertainty with objective timelines.

Where is he now?

After 10 weeks of structured rehab at Petroski Physio, Jack successfully completed over 20 NFL workouts during free agency. He signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers and enters the 2025 season fully cleared and prepared to compete.