Mark Chmura believes that Jermichael Finley’s career will be over after neck surgery

Eric Edholm

Former Green Bay Packers tight end Mark Chmura has talked to seriously injured current Packers tight end Jermichael Finley, and Chmura believes that Finley's career is over.

Chmura spoke with WAUK-AM Radio (via NFL.com) about Finley, who suffered a spinal contusion in a game against the Cleveland Browns that landed him on injured reserve, and held little back.

"I will give you a little snippet," Chmura said. "I got a chance to talk to Jermichael Finley before the game, and I would bet my bottom dollar his career's over. Over. He needs surgery, and it's herniated in [the C3 and C4 vertebrae] ...

"He's definitely not gonna play in Green Bay, I'd put my house on that."

Finley is a free agent after this season. Everything pointed towards a breakout year with a chance to cash in on the open market, but the frightening neck injury changed everything.

Chmura believes that Finley has made the decision to fix the problem, and that surgery is upcoming.

"I believe he's undergoing surgery on Thursday. ... He literally could not move his neck."

It's sad news to hear about Finley, whose career otherwise had plenty of year left at age 26. If Chmura is right, we only can hope that Finley leads a normal and pain-free post-career life.