Every week bones break and muscles rip around the NFL. We’ll take a look at the most significant injuries, and what happens next.
If you’re reading this you likely spend many hours watching football every week. Think about those hours for a second, and how many awful injuries you’ve seen as a result.
As sickening as some of those rips and breaks are, eventually you can become desensitized to it. Another injury means another replacement, and the game goes on.
But it was different with Victor Cruz yesterday. Devastatingly different.
Victor Cruz is reduced to tears
The New York Giants wide receiver couldn’t quite catch a pass in the back of the end zone during a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. Then after leaping for the grab he crumpled.
Cruz tore his patellar tendon when he landed awkwardly, showing yet again that non-contact injuries are the worst kind of football breaking. He was in immediate agony.
.@TafoyaNBCSports: “I can’t remember the last time I covered an injury where I heard so much screaming in pain and agony.”
— Chris Burke (@ChrisBurke_SI) October 13, 2014
The fragile reality of football—with seasons ending in a split second, often followed by a year of rehabilitation—sinks in that much further when a player is broken both physically and emotionally.
Cruz cried as he was carted off, surely sensing the worst. Though an official announcing still needs to trickle down at some point today we’re safe to make our own assumptions too. His season is likely over, and now a Giants offense that’s still evolving in a new system has to claw forward without a uniquely fast receiver who can stretch secondaries deep.
Odell Beckham Jr. will ascend the depth chart to start alongside Rueben Randle, and Eric Ebron will see more footballs in his direction too.
Alex Mack was really durable until he wasn’t
Proving yet again that football is cruel and being durable can mean little, Cleveland Browns center Alex Mack had started 85 straight games before fracturing his leg Sunday during a win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. His season is likely over, a major blow for a run-heavy offense that currently ranks third in average rushing yards per game and second in attempts.
Continuity and familiarity are crucial for any offensive line, and the Browns had plenty of it. They had started the same five offensive linemen every snap this season before Mack’s injury.
Stevan Ridley could be gone for the season
The New England Patriots have had a deep and versatile backfield for several seasons, this one included. But now it’s about to be tested.
There’s fear Stevan Ridley tore his ACL after a low hit during Sunday’s win over the Buffalo Bills. If he’s lost for the season the Patriots will be without a running back who has had ball-security issues in the past, but still posted two 100-plus yard games over the first six weeks.
Ridley is the much better runner between the tackles, with Shane Vereen utilized often in the passing game (114 yards so far on 18 receptions). But Vereen’s quickness has allowed him to do more with much less, averaging 5.1 yards per carry to Ridley’s 3.6.
Vereen will now become the Patriots’ primary running back with Brandon Bolden mixing in, along with possibly James White in a limited role.
The Packers lose both starting cornerbacks
A comeback win over the Miami Dolphins that ended in Aaron Rodgers throwing a touchdown pass with three seconds left is even more impressive given how dangerous it was to play cornerback yesterday for the Green Bay Packers.
Both Tramon Williams and Sam Shields went down in the third quarter, giving the Dolphins offense an opportunity to pick apart Davon House, one of the replacements who has started only 12 games over four NFL seasons.
There’s some optimism around Shields’ knee injury, which looked like one of the much feared non-contact rips at first. Shields was lining in coverage before the snap when he suddenly went down. But he’s been told nothing is torn, likely making any absence a brief one.
Williams suffered an ankle injury and was favoring it heavily. Hayward and House will have to deal with Cam Newton next week if both starting corners miss time.
Trevathan goes down again?
Denver Broncos middle linebacker Danny Trevathan left a win over the New York Jets with a knee injury that was concerning at first, especially after he didn’t play his first game until Week 5 when he was recovered from a broken leg.
X-rays came back negative, and now an MRI today will determine the extent of the injury and any potential ligament damage. For what it’s worth, Trevathan was optimistic after the game. Losing him again would be a significant blow up the middle after he led the Broncos last year in tackles (128) and was also efficient in coverage with 10 passes defensed.
And more hurt…
- It wasn’t a good day to be a critical middle linebacker. Jerod Mayo’s afternoon also ended on a cart, and his season could be over too because of a torn ACL. Replacing a defensive leader who has led the Patriots in tackles five of the last six seasons simply doesn’t happen.
- Darren Sproles does a bit of everything for the Philadelphia Eagles, who are now 5-1 and sitting atop a suddenly tight NFC East. He’s had plays for 40 yards or more on the ground, through the air, and as a punt returner. So although there’s optimism from Sproles himself after he left with a knee injury last night he could still miss some time, and any absence at all is significant.
- The Legion of Boom in Seattle could be without a lot of that boom for a month or so if Byron Maxwell has a high-ankle sprain. He went down in the second quarter of a loss to the Dallas Cowboys after trying to break up a pass to Dez Bryant. Marcus Burley was his replacement, giving opponents even less motivation to target Richard Sherman in coverage.
