Sometimes Mike McGlinchey does himself a disservice. His poise and intelligence, coupled with the fact that he’s a massive human being at 6’8″, 291 pounds, often give you the sense that he’s a wily veteran. He speaks like one, at least. But McGlinchey’s entering just his third season, and dealt with his first extended stay on the sidelines since youth football.
A right knee injury, followed by arthroscopic surgery, cost him four games (a bye week saved him from further time). Quietly, though, McGlinchey received a PRP (plasma-rich platelet) injection on both knees, which, aside from the immediate benefits, allowed him to work with the 49ers medical staff over the summer, while non-injured players were prevented from entering team facilities.
McGlinchey believes the injection, in combination with the studying and self-analysis he undertook while sidelined, is setting him up for his most productive season as a a professional.
“I did a great job with [head strength and conditioning] Dustin Perry, [head of player health and performance] Ben Peterson, [head athletic trainer] Dustin Little and our staff here. I’m a Bay Area native now, so I was here working with our staff and I’m really, really proud of what we did and the things that we do and the basics that we put back into my training that are going to allow me to, I think, be a much more functional athlete and stronger football player.”
Again, this comes after McGlinchey played in the playoffs and a Super Bowl in just his second season, experiences and performances which he believed were improved over that first four-game stretch.
“I think for me, the player that I was in the back half of last season is a completely different player than the one that started it,” McGlinchey said. “And the whole goal for me is to continue to build on that and build on the success that I had both run and pass and just the overall consistency and domination of the blocks that I had.”