Week five started off relatively quietly. We first found out that Julio Jones was inactivated, secondary to a hamstring injury that caused him to leave Week 4 early. Then things got really crazy really quickly.
The Patriots / Broncos game got postponed secondary to a new Covid infection on the Patriots. This indirectly led to a ripple down effect, leading to eight different NFL games getting rescheduled.
Compared to the last couple of weeks thankfully there were not too many injuries today. However there were several big name injuries including three to quarterbacks. The Washington football team’s Kyle Allen suffered a huge hit and likely a concussion. This in turn led to an unbelievable return from Alex Smith, who suffered a traditionally career threatening injury over two years ago that led to over 18 different surgeries.
Baker Mayfield suffered a big hit on his side which likely injured his ribs, and the initial reports were that x-rays were negative. Rib injuries are very painful and particularly concerning for quarterbacks. Remember not too long ago Chargers quarterback Tyrod Taylor was dealing with a rib fracture that was treated with a local injection that led to a partially collapsed lung.
The most significant and devastating injury of the weekend belongs to the Dallas Cowboys Dak Prescott. Unfortunately he suffered what appears to be a season-ending ankle injury. Based on recent reports he suffered a compound fracture and dislocation of his ankle. That this means that his ankle bone was broken in multiple pieces. Prescott already underwent surgery and there are major concerns that if the bone popped out of the skin, we would have a similar situation to Alex Smith, which could be potentially career-threatening. Best case scenario Prescott misses at least six weeks, but the more likely scenario is that he misses at least 6 to 8 months. Very unfortunate nonetheless.
Kansas City Chiefs veteran wide receiver Sammy Watkins suffered a hamstring strain and missed the majority of the game after catching a touchdown. Fellow veteran wide receiver AJ Green also suffered a hamstring strain and missed the majority of the Bengals game as well.
After reverting to his 2019 form in Week 4, Jaguars’ wide receiver D.J. Chark suffered an ankle injury and left the game early, there have been little details about this injury.
Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson suffered a back injury that caused him to miss the majority of the game. Rookie wide receiver Charles Claypool took full advantage and scored four touchdowns in total. Jets wide receiver Chris Hogan suffered a potential serious injury, only limited details are available right now.
Unfortunately the San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo appears to have returned toI early from his high-ankle sprain, and was unable to push off with his throws, struggling in his return. He was replaced at halftime and may need more time for the ankle to fully heal.
In the Sunday night game, Vikings running back Dalvin Cook appeared to have suffered a groin strain. He attempted to return but only made it one play and remained on the sideline while back up Alexander Mattison looked fantastic. There’s a good chance Cook misses Week 6.
One final note is that Michael Thomas, returning from a high-ankle sprain of his own, Thomas was potentially expected to return tomorrow night for Monday night football. News came out that he reportedly got into an altercation with a teammate during the Friday practice and punched him. As a result he has been inactivated for Week 5 and will not play.
We are still awaiting details on several of these injuries, but both the Prescott and AJ Green injuries were covered here. If you prefer the video form of this into review, please watch it here.
AJ Green video: https://youtu.be/9-Z7vdVtTtU
Initial Dak video: https://youtu.be/tnZjNOYAPIk
Dak update: https://youtu.be/6pxQOthiL3Q
Week 5 injury update: https://youtu.be/ayUOXax9-zU
Dalvin Cook: https://youtu.be/pdnbLd-nVfc