Raiders’ Nick O’Leary reveals he underwent serious medical procedure in May

Former Florida State Seminoles star and current Las Vegas Raiders tight end Nick O’Leary received two stents in his heart.

The Last Vegas Raiders thought they were swooping in for some sneaky value when they signed former Bills, Dolphins, and Jaguars tight end Nick O’Leary in April. However, he ended up on the team’s reserve/non-football injury list less than two months later, and subsequent reports emerged on Monday that he had retired from football.

Fortunately, that’s not the case. Per Tom D’Angelo of The Palm Beach Post, O’Leary is determined to get back on the field. That won’t come in 2020, however, as he recently underwent heart surgery.

Las Vegas Raiders tight end Nick O’Leary will not play in 2020 after undergoing a heart procedure in May and receiving two stents

As D’Angelo notes, O’Leary had a 100 percent blockage in his heart (!), but suffered no lasting damage.

“I’ve got to be on blood thinners for six months to a year. That’s really the only reason now why I can’t play football,” he said. “If I got cut, they said that would be the biggest problem; wouldn’t be able to stop the bleeding.”

An All-American and John Mackey Award winner at Florida State, O’Leary was a sixth-round pick by the Bills in 2015. He wasn’t a consistent performer, emerging from the practice squad as a rookie to appear in just four games. After 32 games in three seasons in Orchard Park, he later spent two full years with the Dolphins before splitting time in 2019 between Miami and Jacksonville.

As an athlete just 27 years of age, it’s startling to imagine O’Leary dealing with such significant heart issues. Luckily, he’s taken a much-needed step to get himself back to the field — and perhaps become the very best version of himself.

The Raiders will have to wait until 2021 to see what the former Seminoles star is truly made of, but the fact that he’ll get a chance at all is truly good news.