Injuries are coming for your favorite team. They’re coming for your archrivals, too, so it’s not like any of this is going to be unbalanced, although it may or may not be unfair. They’re constantly redefining the NFL season, and the extended 17-game season is making them seem more pronounced than ever. The more severe injuries can alter the NFL season completely, so let’s take a deeper dive into the four that have already redefined the season.
JJ McCarthy, Minnesota Vikings
This one came first, of course, and when it happened at the beginning of the preseason schedule it was a genuine heartbreaker. McCarthy was Minnesota’s number one draft pick, and he was on track to play right away until he tore his meniscus and had to have season-ending surgery.
The silver lining in this particular cloud is Sam Darnold. That’s not a statement any of us was expecting to read or write, but so far it’s been true. The guy whose biggest claim to fame was seeing ghosts against New England while playing for the Jets is now throwing darts for the Vikings, and he’s the biggest reason they’re 2-0. We have no idea if this can continue, but it’s one of the most fun early season story lines, and you have to be happy for Darnold after what he's been through.
Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins
This is the biggest in-season injury by far, and it’s beyond a heartbreaker. We’ve already seen Tagovailoa sustain horrifying concussions, and this one was an ugly flashback when he reacted to a hit with a reaction that’s typically associated with a deep, traumatic brain injury. It may ruin the Dolphins season, but that’s a very secondary concern at this point. The much larger one is the hope that Tagovailoa is all right, and that gets the best possible medical advice so he can make whatever decision is optimal for his long-term future.
Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers
This was a slow-build injury with subtle effects, but part of that is because it’s not a quarterback injury. It started innocuously as a calf injury, but during the week before San Francisco’s opener against the Jets we learned from coach Kyle Shanahan that McCaffrey is battling Achilles tendinitis. Then this past week a stint on IR was mentioned, and now he’s out for at least four games.
Shanahan had a ready-made solution for the Jets when he unleashed Jordan Mason. Mason consistently gashed the Jets supposedly tough interior defense for almost 150 yards, and he had a 100-yard game against the Vikings. But Mason can’t do what McCaffrey does as a receiver, and that’s a big part of what makes the San Francisco offense go, especially with Brandon Aiyuk still playing himself back into shape after his camp-long holdout.
It remains to be seen how much of an effect McCaffrey’s injury will have on the playoff race in the NFC, but it’s already had an impact that goes well beyond what most of us were expecting.
Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers
Like McCaffrey’s injury, this one is more of a slow burn. At first it looked disastrous, as Love had his leg twisted awkwardly during the final play of Green Bay’s opening loss against Philadelphia in Brazil. The initial word was that it was an MCL sprain, but now he, too, is going to miss a minimum of four games. That’s enough to alter the initial path of what’s expected to be a tightly-contested NFC North race, and it left the Packers scrambling for a viable backup.
Did they find one in Malik Willis? Maybe. Willis washed out in Tennessee, but in his first game against Indianapolis he gave Green Bay just enough to get a win. The hope is that he can continue to duplicate that result, but these are vital games that could be the difference between a home game or two in January versus having to make another extended playoff run exclusively on the road.