The one bit of hope I hold out if this is only a cartilage issue* is that a lot of older pro athletes are doing borderline-voodoo stuff to restore knee cushioning. HLA injections, platelet-rich plasma, growth hormone treatments all over the world at places that don't ask a lot of questions. I think about pro wrestlers The Undertaker and Rey Mysterio, who added five years or more onto their careers after being considered completely shot.

If he loves, loves football and decides that he's going to have chronic pain regardless and wants to play one more season for the love of the game (and ~$20 million in salary and roster bonus), he's got enough time to go to get the weirdness done and be back for 2024.

* Which is easy, because it's not my knee.