I was listening to a team doctor after RG3's injury. He said that with ligament tears in the knee (not a direct translation, but still) the decision about whether to get surgery vs. rest and rehab is made partially by the lifestyle of the patient. He said in most cases, the kind of partial tears that RG3 suffered would not require surgery for an average person, because the extensive PT required would have more of an adverse impact on the patient than the positive impact of a rebuilt knee.
However, in a professional athlete, it's (a) their JOB to put in the PT necessary to rehab, and (b) they require so much more out of their body that they get a much bigger positive effect from the surgery than an average patient. That's why the doctors always perform surgery on partially torn knee ligaments for athletes, but rarely for regular patients.
In any case, long story short - I'll be pissed if Espinosa's injury reoccurs this year. Just because my dad can do rest and rehab for a RC tear (which happened) does not mean it's appropriate for a professional athlete to do the same.
I don't want to be reminded of LaRon Landry dicking around with an injury just to avoid surgery.