Major Injuries Suffered in Week 1 of the National Football League

Introduction

Below is a detailed description of all the major injuries suffered throughout all of the 16 games during week 1 of the National Football League’s regular season. Covers Thursday, September 9th, 2021 through Monday, September 13th, 2021.

Dallas Cowboys – 29 vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – 31

• The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ cornerback, Sean Murphy – Bunting, dislocated his right elbow towards the end of the first quarter during this Thursday Night Football game against the Dallas Cowboys. Murphy – Bunting is currently expected to miss approximately 3 to 4 weeks on the injured reserve list due to this elbow injury.
• The Dallas Cowboys lost the services of their wide receiver, Michael Gallup, as he left the game during the third quarter with what was first thought to be an ankle injury, but it turned out to actually be a calf injury. Gallup is now expected to miss 3 to 6 weeks with this grade – 2 calf strain.

Philadelphia Eagles – 32 vs. Atlanta Falcons – 6

• No major injuries to report during this match – up.

Pittsburgh Steelers – 23 vs. Buffalo Bills – 16

• No major injuries to report during this match – up.

New York Jets – 14 vs. Carolina Panthers – 19

• The New York Jets’ offensive tackle, Mekhi Becton, got his foot stuck in the turf last Sunday, and his knee got rolled up on by another player resulting in a dislocated knee – cap as well as a sprained MCL. Becton will need minor surgery to clean out his knee, which will cause the big guy to miss around 6 to 8 weeks of NFL game action.
• The New York Jets also lost their safety, Lamarcus Joyner, to an elbow injury that he suffered during the first half of this game against the Carolina Panthers. At the moment there is no exact timetable on his return as his elbow will undergo further analysis and evaluations over the upcoming several days.

Minnesota Vikings – 24 vs. Cincinnati Bengals – 27

• No major injuries to report during this match – up.

San Francisco 49ers – 41 vs. Detroit Lions – 33

• The Detroit Lions’ cornerback, Jeffrey Okudah, was forced to leave the game in the second half with a torn Achilles. Unfortunately for Okudah and the Detroit Lions he will have to miss the remainder of the 2021 – 2022 NFL season.
• The wide receiver of the San Francisco 49ers in Brandon Aiyuk pulled his hamstring during this game, but he is not expected to miss a whole lot of time due to this minor injury.
• The San Francisco 49ers’ cornerback, Jason Verrett, tore his ACL during the 4th quarter of this contest against the Detroit Lions, and he will have to sit out the rest of the NFL season with this serious knee injury.
• The San Francisco 49ers also witnessed their starting running back, Raheem Mostert, leave the game with an injured knee. Apparently, it is considered to be a sprained MCL, which Mostert was dealing with throughout the Niners training camp. This type of a sprained knee can take anywhere from one week to eight weeks to heal up so his return to play timetable is really up in the air at the moment.

Jacksonville Jaguars – 21 vs. Houston Texans – 37

• No major injuries to report during this match – up.

Seattle Seahawks – 28 vs. Indianapolis Colts – 16

• The Seattle Seahawks center, Ethan Pocic, sprained his knee in the 4th quarter of this game against the Indianapolis Colts. This knee injury may be an MCL sprain which would take much longer to recover from. Pocic will be out anywhere from a week or two, and possibly as long as 8 weeks if it does end up being diagnosed as an MCL sprain for this offensive lineman.
• The Seattle Seahawks wide receiver, D’Wayne Eskridge, endured a concussion last weekend in the fourth quarter of the ball game, and as is the NFL protocol Eskridge is required to enter the 5 – step concussion protocol and clear that process before being cleared for game action again.
• The Seattle Seahawks also lost their running back, Rashaad Penny, tweaked his calf last Sunday afternoon, and it seems to be a grade – 1 calf strain which should keep this running back on the shelf for the Seattle Seahawks for a week or two.

Arizona Cardinals – 38 vs. Tennessee Titans – 13

• No major injuries to report during this match – up.

Los Angeles Chargers – 20 vs. Washington Football Team – 16

• The Los Angeles Chargers safety, Nasir Adderley, suffered a shoulder injury last Sunday against the Washington Football Team, and his timetable to return is yet to be determined.
• The Los Angeles Chargers also saw their offensive tackle, Bryan Bulaga, hurt his back last weekend, and much like Adderley the Los Angeles Chargers are currently unsure of how long Bulaga will be out due to this injury.
• The Washington Football Team’s starting quarterback, Ryan Fitzpatrick, suffered a hip subluxation in this game against the Los Angeles Chargers. This was one of the most devastating major injuries from week 1 of the 2021 – 2022 NFL regular season. Fitzpatrick will be lucky to play again this season, but as of now he is expected to miss at least a couple months leaving the Washington Football Team really thin at the quarterback position this year. Hopefully they can find a solid back – up QB to take over for their franchise while Ryan recovers from this dramatic ailment.

Cleveland Browns – 29 vs. Kansas City Chiefs – 33

• The Cleveland Browns offensive tackle, Jedrick Wills Jr., left the ball game during the second quarter with an ankle injury. It is most likely a grade – 1 ankle sprain which will probably keep Wills Jr. sidelined for 1 to 3 weeks of game action.

Miami Dolphins – 17 vs. New England Patriots – 16

• The offensive tackle of the New England Patriots, Trent Brown, strained his calf in the 1st quarter of the Patriots game against the Dolphins last Sunday. This is said to be a grade – 1 calf strain, and Brown should miss only 7 to 10 days due to this injury.

Green Bay Packers – 3 vs. New Orleans Saints – 38

• The Green Bay Packers safety, Darnell Savage, hurt his shoulder while playing defense against the New Orleans Saints last weekend. The severity of the injury has yet to be determined.
• The New Orleans Saints cornerback, Marshon Lattimore, tore the UCL in his thumb, and this injury will result in a surgical procedure in order to repair the damage to his digit. This is a minor surgery, and Lattimore should be back in approximately 2 weeks or so.

Denver Broncos – 27 vs. New York Giants – 13

• Another big – time injury that occurred last Sunday was suffered by the Denver Broncos wide receiver, Jerry Jeudy. Jeudy had to be carted off of the gridiron last weekend in the 3rd quarter of this game after he endured a nasty ankle sprain. Luckily, he did not end up dislocating his ankle, but it has been diagnosed as a high ankle sprain causing him to miss anywhere from a couple of weeks up to the remained of this 2021 – 2022 NFL season. It all depends on if he needs surgery or not, but it is safe to say he won’t be 100 % until next year sometime.

Chicago Bears – 14 vs. Los Angeles Rams – 34

• The Chicago Bears offensive tackle, Jason Peters, pulled his quad in Sunday night’s game against the Los Angeles Rams, and Peters was unable to return to the game after leaving the field with this quad injury. He should not miss any extensive time according to sources.

Baltimore Ravens – 27 vs. Las Vegas Raiders – 33

• The Las Vegas Raiders defensive linemen and edge rusher, Yannick Ngakoue, pulled a hamstring. This injury should not keep Ngakoue out of action for very long.
• The Las Vegas Raiders quarterback, Marcus Mariota, injured himself on a rushing attempt in the 3rd quarter of this game. Severity of this injury has not been disclosed yet.
• The Las Vegas Raiders defensive tackle, Gerald McCoy, had to be carted off of the field with a knee injury. Not sure how bad this knee injury is, and how long McCoy will be sidelined for The Las Vegas Raiders.
• The Las Vegas Raiders guard, Denzelle Good, suffered a torn ACL, and he will miss the remainder of this NFL season.

Sources:

“Fantasy Football Week 1 Injury Recap: Fitzpatrick, Mostert, Jeudy Exit Early: Denver receiver Jerry Jeudy, Washington quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, 49ers rusher Raheem Mostert and other fantasy impact players were knocked out of action in Week 1.”, Kyle Wood, si.com, September 12, 2021.

“Notable injuries, news from Sunday's Week 1 games”, nfl.com, September 12, 2021.

“Week 1 NFL Injury Recap & Analysis: Jerry Jeudy suffers high-ankle sprain; Michael Gallup out several weeks”, Mario Pilato, pff.com, September 13, 2021.

“NFL Scoreboard”, espn.com, September 15, 2021.

“Las Vegas Raider suffer several injuries after Monday Night Football win over Baltimore Ravens”, Matt Howe, 247sports.com, September 13, 2021.

Written by: David Green