Oronde Gadsden II to miss rest of season with injury

Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox. Subscribe to our sports newsletter here.

Syracuse tight end Oronde Gadsden II announced on Twitter that he is out for the season. The Orange’s top receiving threat, who entered the season as a Preseason All-American, exited during Syracuse’s second offensive play against Western Michigan last week with a lower body injury. Gadsden was seen on the sidelines in crutches with a boot on his right foot for the remainder of the contest. A statement by Syracuse Athletics stated that he had suffered a lisfranc injury last week, which is an injury to the bones or ligaments in the midfoot.

Moments after announcing the tweet, Gadsden came out of the visiting tunnel at Ross-Ade Stadium in Purdue on a knee scooter with the same boot on his right leg. Head Coach Dino Babers had not given an update on Gadsden during his media availability Monday or during his weekly radio show on Thursday night. After a breakout 2022 season that saw Gadsden earn First Team All-Atlantic Coast Conference and AP First Team All-ACC honors, he finished with six receptions for 57 yards and a touchdown against Colgate in SU’s first game of 2023.

Last season, Gadsden finished with 969 receiving yards — the most by any tight end in the country — while bringing in six touchdowns. Though Gadsden played just two full seasons, one of which was mainly as a special teams participant, Gadsden meets the eligibility requirements to declare for the NFL Draft, though he did not mention it in his post.

“With regards to my future and the possibility of declaring for the NFL Draft, I haven’t even begun to think about that,” Gadsden said in a statement provided by SU Athletics.