Dog days of camps mean injuries
These are the dog days of NFL training camps. Three weeks in, three weeks till the regular season.
When aches and pains turn to breaks and sprains. And fans and coaches alike practically hold their collective breath, daily, hoping key players make it through another day unscathed.
Canada’s Chase Claypool gave the Pittsburgh Steelers and their fans a huge scare at Tuesday’s practice. He needed help from two tall, beefy teammates — quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and tight end Eric Ebron — just to make it off the field, after injuring an ankle. Turns out, it’s apparently just a mild sprain and the Abbotsford, B.C., native won’t be out long, according to local reports.
Claypool himself implied as much on Tuesday evening with this short and simple tweet: “All is well.”
The 23-year-old sat out Wednesday’s practice. So did a couple of young quarterbacks, elsewhere.
In Green Bay, second-year Jordan Love of the Packers hasn’t suited up since dinging a shoulder in last Saturday’s preseason game. Seems he’s unlikely to play Saturday against the New York Jets.
“(We) don’t want to put him in a situation to make it worse,” Packers head coach Matt Lafleur said.
Tell the Chicago Bears about it. Head coach Matt Nagy said Wednesday rookie QB Justin Fields has a minor groin pull. The goal still is to have Fields play Saturday against Buffalo, but the team will be “super conservative,” Nagy said.
Worse for the Bears, rookie offensive tackle Teven Jenkins — a second-round pick — must undergo back surgery. He hadn’t practised all training camp because of the problem, and will not return soon. “The goal is to get him back this season,” Nagy said.
In Philadelphia, Eagles tight end Tyree Jackson is out 8-10 weeks with a backbone fracture, reports said.
Kansas City Chiefs guard Laurent Duvernay-tardif hasn’t practised since last week because of a hand-bone injury, which head coach Andy Reid said Wednesday was “healing up fast.”
Look, if you root hard for any NFL team, or player, you may want to keep holding your breath — until at least Labour Day. Because serious injuries will keep on coming until then, as sure as crisp mornings are coming.
From 2016-20 the annual average preseason count of ACL tears was 10.4 (11 last year), and of MCL tears 13.8 (16 last year). That’s counting both preseason practices and games. Add to that 30-plus annual concussions, plus bone breaks, muscle rips, tendon tears ... you get the idea.
Tampa Bay head coach Bruce Arians said this when asked whether tight end Tanner Hudson’s wrist injury might affect him into the regular season: “He’s still got to make the team to get to the regular season.”
Right. That’s why you never see NFL coaches wink, or smile, when they say a player’s most important ability is his availability. They mean it.