Again, you throw out the "bias" claim when I have never had any bias. It's your default argument to everyone who disagrees with you.
I've never claimed Smith will have to play with a brace, should have to play with a brace, etc. I've never stated I don't think he will ever play again. I've never shown any bias one way or the other............... other than to say much of what has been discussed here by you and others have largely been on snippets and small factoids gleamed from Jones' quotes and photos.
You seem to struggle more than most posters here with people not agreeing with you. It's bizarre.
Of course I throw out the bias. It's called confirmation bias and is very common. Of course you whine about the observation but it is there just the same.
And I am well aware you play the merchant of doubt and don't take any actual position beyond that. Doubt is still your preferred outcome. I don't buy into the paradigm of "we cannot know anything."
And I am interested in dialectic discourse and not everyone agreeing with each other. I try to be dispassionate about it but men such as yourself that get offended when being questioned are extremely typical. Get over yourself and discuss the issue.
Fact is that the semi-rigid AFO's go most of the way up the calf and the rigid ones are extremely bulky if they don't go up the calf like that as well. We have seen the tape jobs and neither a bulky brace or one that goes up most of the calf is apparent. A sleeve like I showed could easily not show under the tape.
Further, Jaylon did not talk about his Ritchie Dynamic Brace nor did he talk about moving to the semirigid style when he did that last year. There is no reason at all whatsoever to believe that now they would tell us specifics about the brace he is wearing if he changed it again.