6:03 pm | September 30, 2018 | Go to Source | Author:
Significant injuries marred what was an exciting week of NFL football. Here’s the latest on all the major injuries from our NFL Nation reporters, including the prognosis on each player for Week 5 and beyond:
Thomas fractured his lower left leg midway through the third quarter of Sunday’s 20-17 win against the Cardinals, on the play that resulted in Arizona’s game-tying touchdown from Josh Rosen to receiver Chad Williams. Several Seahawks teammates knelt around him while holding hands as members of the team’s medical staff tended to Thomas. A few Cardinals players, including Larry Fitzgerald, came over to offer their support as well. Second-year free safety Tedric Thompson will take over for Thomas, and he had been preparing for the job all offseason while Thomas was holding out. — Brady Henderson
Gronkowski left the game in the third quarter with an ankle injury and never returned, spending the remainder of the game in the locker room. There was no official word on the severity of the injury, and Gronkowski didn’t hold his usual post-game news conference. Dwayne Allen is the team’s top backup, while No. 3 option Jacob Hollister has missed the last two games with a chest injury. — Mike Reiss
Eifert broke his right ankle and will have surgery, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Eifert’s injury is season-ending, the third straight season he’s gone down with an injury. The Bengals will likely now activate Mashon Schreck on game days to play in three tight end sets next to Tyler Kroft and C.J. Uzomah. The team rallied around Eifert and said they wanted to win the game for him. — Katherine Terrell
Fournette left the game with hamstring tightness, which is a huge concern because he missed the last two games with a hamstring injury. Those kind of injuries can linger, and the Jaguars have to be careful with Fournette to keep this from becoming an issue that lasts the rest of the season. The Jaguars were able to get by with T.J. Yeldon and Corey Grant and putting the game in QB Blake Bortles‘ hands against the Jets. However, Bortles’ tendency to be up and down makes it risky to do that on a regular basis, especially against the high-powered Kansas City Chiefs in Week 5. — Michael DiRocco
Fuller left Sunday’s game against the Colts with a hamstring injury. He missed time during the preseason and the Texans’ Week 1 game with a hamstring injury. Texans head coach Bill O’Brien said he thinks Fuller could have played in the second half, “but he wasn’t going to be able to run all of the routes we needed him to run.”
“Fuller wanted to be in there, but I made that decision,” O’Brien added.
If Fuller cannot play on Sunday night against the Giants, expect Deshaun Watson to continue to target receiver Keke Coutee, who had 11 catches for 109 yards in his NFL debut. — Sarah Barshop
Woodyard injured his shoulder early in the first quarter when he and safety Kenny Vaccaro collided as they tackled Eagles tight end Zach Ertz. Woodyard came out of the game and remained on the sideline wearing a baseball cap. — Turron Davenport
Kenny Vaccaro, S, Tennessee Titans
Vaccaro suffered a right elbow injury just before halftime as he tackled Eagles running back Wendell Smallwood. Vaccaro came off the field in serious pain, and went directly to the locker room with the training staff. He was in the locker room after the game with a sling on his right arm. — Turron Davenport
The Seahawks lost rookie tight end Dissly in the first quarter to what coach Pete Carroll called a patellar injury. Dissly’s injury leaves Nick Vannett as the Seahawks’ only tight end, so they’ll have to add at least one before their Week 5 game against the Rams. Ed Dickson will be eligible to come off the non-football injury list in two weeks. — Brady Henderson
Howard left the game with a knee injury and did not return. Bucs head coach Dirk Koetter didn’t have much more information beyond that in his post-game news conference, but considering Howard has the fifth-most receiving yards in the league right now (222 yards) among TEs, any absence could be a real issue. — Jenna Laine.
Staley suffered a left knee injury in the first half of Sunday’s game that kept him out for the duration of the contest. After the game, Niners coach Kyle Shanahan said he was unsure of the severity of Staley’s injury. There will be additional testing on the veteran’s knee, though Staley did walk out of the Stubhub Center under his own power, with neither crutches nor a walking boot. Veteran Garry Gilliam replaced Staley against the Chargers. — Nick Wagoner
Mitchell could be done for the season with a fractured forearm. Mitchell had been playing very well opposite Denzel Ward, and the Browns struggled after he was sidelined. E.J. Gaines and T.J. Carrie took turns playing corner with Mitchell out. — Pat McManamon
Hyde left Sunday’s game in the first quarter with a groin injury, and did not return. He declined to speak to reporters in the locker room afterward. If Hyde misses any stretch of time, Rafael Bush would step in as the replacement. — Mike Rodak
Allison sustained a concussion in the second half, and will be in the protocol this week. Allison has at least one other known concussion in his three-year NFL career, occurring in the 2017 preseason. — Rob Demovsky
Starting right guard Lang left the game in the first quarter with a concussion, and didn’t return. It is either the fifth or sixth concussion of Lang’s career (back in 2015 he said he had three or four and he’s had two since). As with any concussion, Lang will have to clear the NFL’s protocol in order to return to live action. — Michael Rothstein
The return of David Irving from a four-game suspension might be coming at a good time for the Cowboys. Woods was knocked out of Sunday’s game against Detroit with a calf injury and had been playing through a groin injury. After the game, the team was not certain Woods would be able to play next week against Houston. Irving will be eligible to practice on Tuesday, and defensive tackle Maliek Collins should be closer to return from a knee injury after missing the last two games. — Todd Archer
The Falcons saw nose tackle Jarrett leave the game with a left ankle injury. His status is unclear heading into next week. — Vaughan McClure.
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