When Tennessee linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin met with the media to announce he underwent season-ending shoulder surgery, he said he may consider obtaining a medical redshirt that would grant him eligibility for 2017.

One NFL analyst seems to be on board with that idea.

Reeves-Maybin recorded a team-high 13 tackles in the only full game he played this season, but a shoulder injury hampered him since then. NFL analyst Lance Zierlein thinks the senior’s recent injury, combined with his relative lack of size at 6-foot-3, 230 pounds, will damage his stock if he decides to enter the NFL draft.

“If he has any medical red flags at all, plus lack of size, that’s a recipe for going undrafted,” Zierlein told NFL.com. “… He’s got a skill set that will translate to the NFL whether he comes out this year or next year. But the most important thing for him is to be fully healthy whenever he comes out. That gives him the best chance to be an active participant on a two-deep roster.”

The Volunteers and coach Butch Jones would surely love to have Reeves-Maybin back in Knoxville for another year.

That might be in the best interest of his career, too.