Report: Heart Condition Could Cost Nick Fairley His Career
By: Will Burchfield
@burchie_kid
Former Lions defensive tackle Nick Fairley won't play for the Saints this season due to a heart condition, and he may not play again in the NFL.
Per Adam Schefter, Fairley's football career could be over.
Fairley, 29, missed the Saints' OTAs earlier this month and was officially placed on the team's reserve/non-football injury list on Monday.
Fairley's heart condition came up in his pre-draft physical before the Lions selected him with the 13th overall pick in 2011. But it wasn't considered career-threatening until a recent report from Jennifer Hale.
Fairley spent the first four seasons of his career with the Lions, from 2011 to 2014. Plagued by injuries and inconsistency, the team declined his fifth-year option after the 2013 season. He signed a one-year deal with the Rams in 2015 before agreeing to a four-year, $28 million contract with the Saints in March.
The Saints are not obligated to pay Fairley as long as he's on the reserve/non-football injury list.
