Report: Florida’s Cece Jefferson has shoulder surgery, out four months

Florida Gators linebacker/end Cece Jefferson had surgery on his right shoulder earlier this week and will miss four months, per Robbie Andreu of The Gainesville Sun.

Jefferson sustained what appeared to be a shoulder injury during the first half of Florida’s spring game. He left the game and did not return.

Jefferson, a former five-star prospect, has been intermittently effective throughout his Florida career, putting together a good enough season as a junior in 2017 — 47 tackles and a team-leading 13.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks — that he could plausibly have been drafted had he elected to enter the 2018 NFL Draft. Instead, he opted to stay, and is — was? — expected to play a larger role as a stand-up edge rusher in new defensive coordinator Todd Grantham’s scheme than he did as an end for Randy Shannon.

A shoulder injury and a four-month recovery that is likely to eat into much or all of his fall camp could very well scuttle those plans, and leave Florida looking at fellow underwhelming five-star Antonneous Clayton — who had a fine spring, by all accounts — and a gaggle of young and unproven players to fill the role of primary edge rusher.