Injuries are a huge part of the NFL, and this season is no exception. Big players like Tony Romo, Ben Roethlisberger, Jammal Charles, Dez Bryant and more are sitting right now nursing injuries.
Injuries can take apart a team quickly, as well as test your depth. The Browns learned that opening day when early on they lost quarterback Josh McCown for the remainder of the game and the following game with a concussion.
ESPN put together an extensive list today highlighting all 32 teams in the NFL and their injury woes as we get set to enter week seven. Here’s what the piece said about the Browns, who rank 19th overall and have missed 27 starts from their injured players.
Cornerback Joe Haden is a linchpin for the Browns defense, the guy who would be assigned the opposing team’s best receiver, which would then free up others for double-teams or blitzes. But Haden has been slowed or sidelined by a broken finger, a rib injury and now a concussion this season. That has hampered the Browns’ approach — and, when combined with an ankle injury to unheralded inside linebacker Craig Robertson, it’s easy to see why the defense ranks 30th overall. — Pat McManamon
Players out for season: LB Scott Solomon (knee), DB Ifo Ekpre-Olomu (knee), QB Connor Shaw (thumb), OT Michael Bowie (shoulder)
Players injured: LB Craig Robertson (ankle), DE Desmond Bryant (shoulder), CB Justin Gilbert (hamstring), S Tashaun Gipson (ankle), CB Joe Haden (finger/rib/concussion), WR Dwayne Bowe (hamstring), QB Josh McCown (concussion), RB Robert Turbin (ankle), CB K’Waun Williams (concussion), CB Charles Gaines (hamstring), TE Randall Telfer (foot), RB Glenn Winston (knee),Total starts missed: 27 — Solomon (14), Robertson (3), Bryant (2), Gilbert (2), Gipson (2), Haden (2), Bowe (1), McCown (1)
While the Browns are ranked 19th, they are by far not the most banged up team in the AFC North. The Steelers, who are 4-2 as they get set for the Chiefs this weekend, are 3rd overall on the list. Along with Big Ben they also are missing their starting center (Maurkice Pouncey), two kickers, and just lost a starting offensive tackle for the year (Kelvin Beachum).
Here’s the piece on the Steelers:
The Steelers have been ravaged by injuries and are fortunate to be 4-2. Three of their top six offensive linemen are either out for the season or are uncertain to return, including starting center Maurkice Pouncey and left tackle Kelvin Beachum. Somehow, the guys up front have found a way to hold up without those players. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s MCL sprain forced Michael Vick into action, and now Vick is expected to miss this week’s game against the Chiefs with a hamstring injury, clearing the way for Landry Jones. And, oh yeah, Pittsburgh’s defense has gone the past five weeks without three starters in the back seven, including talented former first-rounder Ryan Shazier. The Steelers are playing well without key pieces, which means they should contend when everyone returns. — Jeremy Fowler
Players out for season: K Shaun Suisham (knee), K Garrett Hartley (hamstring), T Kelvin Beachum (knee), CB Senquez Golson (labrum)
Players injured: C Maurkice Pouncey (fibula), CB Cortez Allen (knee), LB Ryan Shazier (shoulder), QB Ben Roethlisberger (knee), S Will Allen (ankle), WR Martavis Bryant (knee), OLB Jarvis Jones (hip), QB Bruce Gradkowski (shoulder), T Mike Adams (back), DT Dan McCullers (knee), QB Michael Vick (hamstring)Total starts missed: 65 — Suisham (16), Hartley (16), Beachum (10), Pouncey (8), C. Allen (5), Shazier (4), Roethlisberger (3), W. Allen (1), Bryant (1), Jones (1)
Baltimore is ranked 15th, with their biggest injury of the season being the loss of linebacker Terrell Suggs, who went down in week one for the season.
Here’s the info on Baltimore:
Injuries are one of the biggest reasons for why the Ravens have a 1-5 record, the worst start in the 20-year existence of the franchise. The team watched first-round pick Breshad Perriman go down with a knee injury in the first practice of training camp and lost linebacker Terrell Suggs to a season-ending Achilles injury in the first game of the regular season. If that wasn’t bad enough, Baltimore’s only proven wide receiver (Steve Smith Sr.) is playing with four microfractures in his back. It’s hard not to cringe when writing about this truly painful season for the Ravens. –Jamison Hensley
Players out for season: LB Terrell Suggs (Achilles), WR Michael Campanaro (back), S Matt Elam (biceps), RB Lorenzo Taliaferro (foot), CB Will Davis (knee)
Players injured: WR Breshad Perriman, DE Chris Canty (calf), T Eugene Monroe (concussion), TE Crockett Gillmore (calf), DT Timmy Jernigan (knee), WR Steve Smith Sr. (back), CB Lardarius Webb (thigh), DB Terrence Brooks (thumb), S Kendrick Lewis (knee)
Total starts missed: 33 — Suggs (15), Perriman (6), Canty (4), Monroe (3), Gillmore (2), Jernigan (1), Smith (1), Webb (1)
And finally the Bengals, who are playing better than anyone in the division and hold a two game lead on the Steelers at 6-0, and thus far have lost just eight games due to injury.
Here’s the piece on Cincinnati.
The Bengals were in the enviable position last Thursday and Friday of practicing all 53 men on their active roster — something they couldn’t say at all during an injury-filled 2014 season. Although three players left Sunday’s game with injuries, coach Marvin Lewis expects the Bengals to return from the bye quite close to full health. As an added bonus, the Bengals could be getting a couple of late-October call-ups off their injury lists. Pro Bowl linebacker Vontaze Burfict is eligible to come off the physically unable to perform list with his rehab from a January microfracture surgery now complete, while first-round pick Cedric Ogbuehi (knee) and backup linebacker Sean Porter (knee) could also be back on the field soon. — Coley Harvey
Players out for season: OLB Marquis Flowers (shoulder), WR James Wright (knee)
Players injured: OLB Vontaze Burfict (knee), CB Leon Hall (back), S George Iloka (ankle), T Cedric Ogbuehi (knee), OLB Sean Porter (knee)
Total starts missed: 8 — Burfict (6), Hall (1), Iloka (1)
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