Florida defensive back Aaron Gates is scheduled to have shoulder surgery, according to a report by Swamp247 on Tuesday morning.
It would yet another blow to the Gators amid a horrific 1-3 start to the 2025 season that’s included 3 straight losses. According to the report, the sophomore nickel cornerback will have surgery on the labrum in his left shoulder.
Gates suffered the injury during Florida‘s loss at Miami on Sept. 20. He was seen wearing a sling later that night as the Gators fell to their in-state rival in primetime to suffer that third straight loss. Gates didn’t return to the game after sustaining the injury, and now it appears he will be out for a while.
Tuesday’s report on Gates’ impending surgery comes in direct contrast to what head coach Billy Napier said on Monday, when he reported that the team had received “good news” regarding the redshirt sophomore’s injury.
Gates has 7 tackles, 4 of them solo, in 4 games this season for that stingy Florida defense that has tried to keep the Gators in games in 2025 while the offensive has struggled mightily. He’s been in a rotation at the STAR nickel position with junior Sharif Denson, but now that’s all up in the air for Gates, who’s already been through the injury bug.
He fought his way back into Florida’s secondary rotation during the offseason after suffering a torn ACL in his right knee in a game against Ole Miss last November. That ended his 2024 season, and now the rest of his 2025 season is in serious flux after this latest reported setback.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
