From the beginning of his career as a professional athlete, Nick Moore has defied the odds. After playing professional baseball for the Boston Red Sox organization for four years right out of high school, Nick went on to play football at the University of Georgia before signing on as an undrafted free agent in the NFL with the New Orleans Saints in 2019.
By 2020, Nick had earned a spot with the Baltimore Ravens and proved so valuable that he signed a contract as a long snapper. He received all All-Pro honors in 2022.
At home, Nick and his wife Ashley had recently welcomed their first child, Rylan, in January 2023, and were preparing for another NFL season as a young family.
Then, in the spring of 2023, he was tested again.
“I had just gotten a contract extension in March, and I was coming off the best pro football season of my career,” Nick said. “I was preparing for training camp with a practice conditioning test when I planted my right leg and it felt like my Achilles exploded.”
An MRI revealed that he had torn his Achilles and would need surgery, followed by months of rehab before he could play football again – right before the start of the 2023 season.
“I was in shock,” Nick said. “I was 30 years old at the time and had been a professional athlete since I was 18; I had never before been injured to the point of missing play.”
Frustrated and uncertain whether the opportunity with the Ravens would still be there when he was healthy again, Nick went all in to make sure he committed to doing everything he could to return to play the following season. He turned to orthopedic surgeon Robert Anderson, MD (Charlotte, NC), who repaired Nick’s Achilles using the Arthrex PARS Achilles Jig System with SutureTape.
“The traditional way of fixing an Achilles tendon was an open repair with a large incision on the back of the calf, which came with a higher risk of infection and nerve damage,” Dr. Anderson said. “With the minimally invasive PARS technique, we use a jig to capture the tendon under the skin, pull the ends back together, and secure them with SutureTape.”
Dr. Anderson helped design the percutaneous Achilles repair system (PARS) with Arthrex over a decade ago and says the technique has many benefits over the traditional Achilles repair.
“This technique requires a much smaller incision, reducing the risk of complications and allowing patients to recover and get back to their activities quicker,” ¹ Dr. Anderson said. “We even developed needles that are less sharp to minimize the risk of injuring the nerves.
Nick had surgery in August of 2023, and after six weeks of non-weight-bearing to allow the tendon to heal at the correct tension, he jumped into a strict rehab protocol to regain his mobility and strength.
“After 12 weeks, my Achilles was fully healed, but then it was time to rebuild the strength in that leg and train my body to use those muscles again,” Nick said. “I did anything and everything I could to get back, from weightlifting and cross training, to physical therapy and body work, to dialing in my nutrition.”
As his recovery progressed, Nick’s personal life grew even fuller. In October 2024, he and Ashley welcomed their second son, Declan. Balancing rehab with life as a father of two young boys added another layer of motivation to his comeback.
He started practicing again with the Ravens nine months after surgery and was fully cleared to play football again in 10 months.
“It took that time for me to have full confidence that I was back to the player I was before,” Nick said. “You can’t protect yourself when you’re playing in the NFL; it’s a violent sport. In one of my first games back, I blocked a big, 300-pound guy and did a great job. That’s when I knew—I’m back.”
Dr. Anderson explained that most people, from recreational athletes to pros in the NFL and NBA, recover with no restrictions, thanks to this minimally invasive technique – as long as they comply with their own rehab protocol, like Nick did.
“Most people do extremely well. We tell our patients – elite athlete or not – you must protect the repair until your body has time to heal it,” Dr. Anderson said. “It’s important to seek out a surgeon who uses this minimally invasive technique with the Arthrex products and provides the right rehab protocol.”
And that, Nick says, is exactly why he is about to start another season with the Ravens at 32 years old.
“It’s not easy to come back in your thirties. I’m proud to come back even better than I was before,” Nick said. “I never believed for one second that I would not play again, and I am excited about what’s ahead.”