Week 9 Injury Report: Injury Prone Players?

Big names fill the injury list this week as the injury drama continues in Week 9, including a late ACL scare for Puka, Josh Jacobs' finger injury, and yet another Ladd McConkey injury. Let’s dive into research-backed return injury analysis after the action this week.

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Ladd McConkey

Injury: Back

Projected Return: Week 10-11

Unfortunately, Ladd McConkey is a common name on this list. This week, he suffered from back spasms in warm-ups, causing him to miss time. Typically, the muscles around the back that are impacted are called the paraspinals. The symptom could be due to a preexisting injury like a muscle strain, disc, or joint issue.

This shouldn’t impact him for more than a week or so, though in a case like this, it’s more important that he can return to pain-free activities rather than relying on a specific time frame for return.

Jaylen Waddle

Injury: Concussion

Projected Return: Week 10-11

Jaylen Waddle suffered a concussion after taking a big hit while attempting to make a catch. He will enter a concussion protocol and will now have to progress through several symptom-free phases to return. He will start by working towards symptom-free general daily activities, aerobic exercise, non-contact practice, and eventually contact practice before returning to competition. The return will depend on how fast he can clear this protocol, and the average return for NFL athletes is 15 days.

Luther Burden

Injury: Concussion

Projected Return: Week 10-11

Luther Burden is also confirmed to have suffered a concussion. Similarly, he will enter a concussion protocol and will now have to progress through the same phases as Jaylen Waddle, working towards symptom-free return to play. Again, the return will depend on how fast he can clear this protocol, and the average return for NFL athletes is 15 days.

Xavier Worthy

Injury: Hamstring

Projected Return: Week 11-14

Worthy pulled up with a hamstring injury while springing and turning with the football. Hamstring strains often cause players to miss time and increase risk for re-injury, especially in their first game back. He‘ll likely miss at least 1-2 games, but it may be smarter to hold him out for closer to four weeks to prevent reinjury.

In his absence, Travis Kelce will likely see the biggest boost in targets, while the other Chiefs pass catchers will look to better establish themselves in the offense.

Jake Ferguson

Injury: Knee

Projected Return: TBD

Jake Ferguson was seen walking with his left knee wrapped after the game. His knee was forced into a valgus position while making a catch. This puts the MCL under stress, though there could be some additional knee structural damage as well. He’ll likely have an MRI to confirm specific damage.

If his MCL was damaged, a grade 3 injury that requires surgery would put him out for several months. A grade 1 sprain may keep him out for one to four weeks, and a grade two would be three to six weeks.

Josh Jacobs

Injury: Hand

Projected Return: Week 10

Josh Jacobs had his finger caught in a Patriot face mask and ultimately did not make a return to the game. He was seen with his hand taped up while on the sideline, later confirmed to have fractured his ring finger. As of now, reports are saying that the Packers believe he may miss no time. However, he’ll have to work back to being able to effectively grip the football without any finger instability or pain before doing so.

Puka Nacua

Injury: Knee

Projected Return: TBD

On the last offensive play for the Rams, Puka suffered a knee hyperextension injury after a direct blow to the right knee, the same knee he has a history of PCL injuries with. This mechanism could indicate an ACL injury, but initial tests seem to indicate he has not suffered an ACL injury. He’ll undergo an MRI on Monday to find out the extent of the injury. If not an ACL injury, it’s possible he suffered a bone bruise. With this sort of injury, time missed is typically 1-4 weeks for smaller bruises, possibly longer if bruising is more extensive or there is some other ligament damage.

Drew Lock

Injury: Oblique

Projected Return: TBD

Drew Lock is reported to have suffered an oblique injury, and he may end up missing some time. The exact injury or mechanism is not known. If he misses some time, next up is Jalen Milroe until Sam Darnold is able to return.

Rhamondre Stevenson

Injury: Knee

Projected Return: TBD

Rhamondre suffered a knee injury before the fourth quarter. The Patriots had no real reason to force a return, considering they were down by several scores. Because of this, we’ll wait for further testing before speculating further.