The tragedy and appeal of American Football is its violent aspect, which glues many fans to the screens and seats, but also ends seasons and career after the first snap of the season. The San Diego Chargers have already lost Keenan Allen for the season, while the Houston Texans saw Brian Cushing go down with a serious injury, again.
Russell Wilson, Seahawks: Wilson got his ankle hurt, and played through the pain. But word coming out now from Seahawks camp is that the injury is more serious than previously thought, which means they’re already out shopping for a quarterback, as they have only Trevone Boykin on the roster to backup Wilson.
Keenan Allen, Chargers: The Chargers’ best wide receiver managed to catch six passes for 63 yards before going down with a non-contact injury, turning out to be a torn ACL, which means he’ll miss the entire season. He missed half of last season as well.
Brian Cushing, Texans: Cushing tore his ACL before. This time, the talented linebacker who missed a lot of time in the 2012 and 2013 seasons tore, partially, his MCL. It means six weeks out for someone who has probably proven once again, despite his ability when healthy, that he simply can’t be counted on.
Delvin Breaux, Saints: The New Orleans Saints cornerback got hurt in the first half, tried to play through it and ended up being carted to the locker room. The final diagnosis was a broken fibula, which is a big hit for the Saints, as Breaux is their best corner. He’ll be out for at least a month if not more.
There are other injuries that might end up being more serious, like the groin injury to Menelik Watson of the Oakland Raiders, who injured his groin. Matt McCants who replaced him also left the game with an injury, which didn’t stop the Raiders from beating the Saints.
There were plenty of aching ankles. Both Julio Jones and Mohamed Sanu hurt their ankles in the Falcons loss to the Bucs, with Sanu looking like he’s in bigger trouble than Jones following the game. The Bills, already losing two players with a couple of torn knee ligaments before the season, have a problem with offensive lineman Cordy Glenn, also hurting his ankle.
Robert Griffin III looked bad in the Browns loss to the Eagles, and his shoulder sprain didn’t help. Sam Shields of the Green Bay Packers left the game in the fourth quarter with a possible concussion. He missed three games last season with a concussion as well. Jeremy Maclin took a helmet-to-helmet hit in the fourth quarter in the Chiefs win over the Chargers, but Andy Reid said he passed the protocol.