The NFL season is in full swing. Rivalry games, upsets, twists, and turns have been supplied in spade. As is the case with most seasons, injuries have plagued the league at a very high level. Although smaller injuries are relatively common in the NFL, season ending ones are both frustrating, and potentially detrimental to a team’s season. The following key players have already had their season ended.
Tyreek Hill – Wide Receiver, Miami Dolphins
In Week four, during a Monday Night football game against the New York Jets, Wide Receiver Tyreek Hill was tackled and dislocated his knee. The injury tore multiple ligaments, but most notably his ACL. Thirty-one year old Hill, who was traded to Miami in early 2022, has played the past four seasons with the Dolphins. Most notably, in the 23-24 season, Tyreek Hill led the NFL in receiving yards with a staggering 1799 receiving yards. Since then, however, Tyreek has had less than favorable luck. After hitting that milestone, he made the bold statement that he wanted to set the single season receiving yards record, last set by Hall-of-Fame wide receiver Calvin Johnson in 2012. The season after however, Tua Tagovailoa (the Dolphins starting quarterback) would miss significant time to injury, leading to a decent, but not amazing, 959 yards. Now this season, he’s sidelined until at least next year. Tyreek is a wide receiver known for his speed and route running ability, and a knee injury of this nature is sure to have severe effects on both his speed and agility. Not to mention, it’s difficult even for young players to come back from injuries like this. At thirty-one, the odds are not in his favor to return. Fans can only hope that Hill’s recovery goes smoothly and we can continue to watch him next season.
Nick Bosa – Defensive End, San Francisco 49ers
Week three was a week defined by blocked field goals and last minute comebacks. But amidst all the noise surrounding those games, and San Francisco’s own last minute game winning field goal, the 49ers lost their star pass rusher, Nick Bosa. Bosa has played his entire career with San Francisco since being drafted in 2019, and in that time has racked up 64.5 sacks and 13 forced fumbles. After a pass rush in which a powerful push off the line of scrimmage caused his knee to hyperextend, Bosa had to be carted off the field and had season ending surgery performed on his knee after being diagnosed with an ACL tear. Bosa had previously torn his other ACL in 2020. It’s important to remember that he’s only 27 years old, so he still has a lot of time to undergo rehab and come back to playing condition, but Bosa will have to be seriously concentrated on making sure he recovers quickly and completely.
Joe Burrow – Quarterback, Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals have been on a rough stretch recently. A 2-0 start has developed into a 2-2 record and a serious hole in their offense. Star quarterback Joe Burrow was an electric player to watch last season, putting together an impressive 5119 total yards and 45 touchdowns to go with 9 interceptions. This season, however, after only 2 weeks, Joe Burrow strained his toe against the Jacksonville Jaguars. While Burrow can return, his injury did require surgery which will keep him out for a minimum of 3 months, which left the Bengals entire season in the hands of backup quarterback Jake Browning. Though following his poor performance, the Bengals decided to trade for Browns quarterback Joe Flacco, who is now the starter. Burrow will need to return with determination to win, and when he does come back most importantly, will need to stay healthy in the long term. He already has a history of injuries, including an ACL tear in his rookie year, a wrist ligament tear 2 seasons ago, and now his toe in week 2. He needs to stay healthy to keep producing results.
Nnamdi Madubuike – Defensive Tackle, Baltimore Ravens
Among all the playoff teams from last year, only 1 has a comparable record to the Ravens right now, being the Houston Texans who’ve had all sorts of issues with their offensive line. Baltimore, however, on paper, has one of the best teams in the league. Lamar Jackson is still playing at a very high level coming off what could have been an MVP season last year (5087 total yards, 45 total touchdowns, and 4 interceptions) and they added key players on the defensive side during the draft. The issue, sadly for the currently 1-3 Ravens, is injuries. One of the most significant is Nnamdi Madubuike, a star defensive tackle for the Ravens since he was drafted in 2020. Before his injury, Madubuike started a total of 55 straight games for the Ravens, and added an invaluable presence in both the pass rush and run stop for their defense. He suffered a neck injury against the Cleveland Browns in Week 2, and will miss the rest of the season. If all goes well, he will recover and be able to play next season, but for the entire remainder of this season, the Ravens will be missing him and his ability dearly.
Malik Nabers – Wide Receiver, New York Giants
During Week four, the Giants picked up their first win of the season against the undefeated Los Angeles Chargers. On top of this, that game was the first career start for quarterback Jaxson Dart. The Giants led by Dart somehow managed to win 21-18, and upset the chargers at Metlife Stadium in front of their home fans. Despite that shining moment, the joy was dimmed by the loss of star receiver Malik Nabers. Drafted in 2024 with the 6th overall pick out of Louisiana State University, Nabers has been one of the big reasons why many Giants fans bother to watch them play recently. He tore his ACL against the Chargers and will be sidelined for the rest of the season. This is a massive loss for the Giants offense and their organization as a whole. While this year they do have more help thanks to young, exciting players like running back Cam Skattebo and QB Jaxson Dart, Nabers’ loss is still huge for them going forward. How he recovers will be crucial for the Giants- he is an outstanding talent and having him lose too much time could be detrimental.
While these sorts of injuries are obviously in the job description for every player, it’s still a shame to see whenever it happens. All of these players have a long road of recovery ahead of them, and hopefully they can all find their way back to the field sooner rather than later, but as of right now, it’s going to be a while before we can see any of these stars playing again. As for their teams, it’s down to them to find a way to fill their missing spots in the wake of losing players like this. Nobody knows how each team’s season will end, but hopefully they’re able to make due even with all the missing players.
