America’s hardest-hitting sport has come to collect this year, and this year’s injuries have really taken their toll on the league and its players. Coming into week four of the 2024 NFL season, the stars are dropping like flies. Isaiah Pacheco, Tua Tagovailoa, Cooper Kupp and Deebo Samuel are among those who were unlucky enough to fall victim to injury this season, bringing a serious burden to their teams.
Taking a trip down to Kansas City, Missouri: home of the back-to-back, reigning Super Bowl champions, the Kansas City Chiefs. Sunday, September 15: Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals visit Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. Kansas City runs away with a 26-25 victory in an absolute thriller of a game; however, KC’s number one running back, Isaiah Pacheco, ends up leaving the stadium in a boot. Pacheco was able to put up impressive numbers in which he finished the game with 90 yards, 19 carries, but 0 touchdowns.
Pacheco left the game with a lower leg injury. He has since been placed on injury reserve and, according to CBS Sports insider Jonathan Jones, Pacheco will apparently be out for longer than the four-game minimum (CBS Sports). ESPN reported that Pacheco would be out for a 6-8 week period.
Pacheco apparently fractured his right fibula and has the potential to miss out on the rest of the season. The Chiefs have now brought in Carson Steele, an undrafted rookie out of UCLA. Steele now has the opportunity to show out and become a crucial part of Kansas City’s offensive line.
Traveling down south to the 305: sunny, Miami, Florida. Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills went head-to-head with Tua Tagovailoa and the Miami Dolphins on Thursday Night Football during prime time. It was an absolute classic of a rivalry game between the two powerhouses in which the Bills kept their winning streak alive against the Dolphins in a 31-10 triumph. In a play with four minutes left in the third quarter, Tagovailoa finds the open gap in the Bills defense scheme and attempts to capitalize. While running the ball for a first down, Tua takes a hard collision with Bills safety Damar Hamlin and is down for a while. After medical staff storm the field, he is wheeled out of the stadium with a suspected concussion.
To the horror of Miami fans, “possible retirement” headlines filled the news days after. Tua was immediately placed on injury reserve as his concussion diagnosis was presented in what would be Tua’s third concussion in his NFL career. ESPN reported that the star quarterback will be out for at least four games until he recovers. The Dolphins have now brought in Skylar Thompson, a seventh-round pick out of Kansas State, as Tua’s replacement for the remainder of the season or until Tua is healthy again.
The next game took place down south in Phoenix, Arizona. On Sunday, September 15, Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp and the LA Rams took a road trip to visit Kyler Murray, Marvin Harrison Jr. and the Arizona Cardinals. In a game where the Cardinals blew the Rams out of the water in a 41-10 blowout win, the Rams would not only lose the game but also go on to lose their top wide receiver, Cooper Kupp. Kupp exited the stadium with a limp and was diagnosed with a high ankle sprain injury after rolling his ankle while being tackled during the game.
In the best possible scenario, Kupp is only suspected to miss one week; however, depending on the severity of the injury progression, Kupp could possibly be out until week 8 (Diario AS). Kupp has dealt with numerous injuries throughout his last couple seasons. The Rams have now brought in Tyler Johnson and rookie Jordan Wittington to cover for Kupp until he is back on the field (Ramblin’ Fan).
The week of injuries ended its rampage in the Land of 10,000 Lakes: Minneapolis, Minnesota. Brock Purdy, Deebo Samuel and the San Francisco 49ers paid a visit to Sam Darnold, Justin Jefferson and the Minnesota Vikings. In an absolute stunner, the 49ers took a hard loss to the Vikings, 23-17. Soon after, breaking news headlines filled the papers and phones of the public as Deebo Samuel suffered a calf strain. As per Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan, Deebo is expected to be sidelined for “a couple weeks” (San Francisco 49ers).
Deebo has been a top-tier, high caliber, receiver for the 49ers lately and caught nearly every pass in his game on Sunday, hauling in an impressive eight passes for 110 yards.
As we progress through the rest of the season, expect to see some of the NFL’s top teams start to feel the weight of their star players’ injuries.
