Injuries. It’s the worst part of every NFL season. In many cases, it can be the difference between a head coach getting fired or a team missing the playoffs. In one of the most injury-plagued NFL preseasons in recent memory, at least 15 projected NFL starters have been lost for the season. According to Football Outsiders, that’s the most in any season since at least 2000. We still have one more week’s worth of preseason games to be played so let’s hope that number doesn’t continue to increase. Below I took a look at the most devastating NFL injuries, ranked in order of importance to the team. It’s a list that includes some of the top players in the league, with injuries to players like Mike Iupati and Phil Loadholt just missing the top 10.
1 – Kelvin Benjamin, WR, Carolina Panthers
The most crucial injury to any NFL team is the one suffered by last year’s first-round pick Kelvin Benjamin, who will miss the entire season after tearing his ACL. Last year, Benjamin caught 73 balls for 1008 yards and nine touchdowns. Although he struggled with drops, his impact on a struggling Panthers offense can’t be understated, and in 2015, he was the only legitimate receiving threat for Cam Newton. His injury thrusts second-round pick Devin Funchess into the number one receiver spot, but it’s hard to see a scenario where the Panthers are able to overcome Benjamin’s injury and compete for a third straight NFC South title.
2 – Maurkice Pouncey, C, Pittsburgh Steelers
A broken leg will cost center Maurkice Pouncey at least half the season, likely around 10 games. This is the second time in three seasons Pouncey has suffered a major injury, and when he did in the first game of the 2013 season, the Steelers ended up missing the playoffs and struggling to protect Ben Roethlisberger all year. Pouncey’s injury will move UDFA Cody Wallace into the starting role. The Steelers have a much stronger offensive line in 2015 than they did in 2013, plus dominant skill-position players like Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown. But Pouncey’s injury was enough for me to change my AFC North champion from Pittsburgh to Baltimore.
3 – Ryan Clady, LT, Denver Broncos
Peyton Manning lost his star left tackle to a season-ending ACL tear back in late May, the second time in three seasons that Clady has suffered a major injury. Now in 2013, when Clady missed the final 14 games of the year with a Lisfranc injury, the Broncos scored a single-season record 606 points. That’s obviously unlikely to happen in 2015, and with Manning now 39 and possibly in the final season of his career, ample protection is a necessity. His new blindside blocker will be rookie second-round pick Ty Sambrailo, a far cry from four-time Pro Bowler Clady.
4 – Jordy Nelson, WR, Green Bay Packers
Many people would have the Jordy Nelson injury first on this list, and yes, he’s definitely the best player who has been lost for the season. But it’s a credit to Aaron Rodgers, the best quarterback in the game, that Nelson is only fourth on this list. In fact, I’ll go as far as to say that the Packers will be perfectly fine without Nelson. Randall Cobb is a legitimate number one receiver and second-year man Davante Adams is ready to make the leap in 2015. NumberFire agrees with me, as they projected Green Bay’s potent offense to lose an average of just 0.7 points per game in 2015. You’d be hard-pressed to find a better player whose season-ending injury becomes so unimportant, and again, that’s no criticism of Nelson. He’s a terrific receiver, one of the 10 or 12 best in the league. But this is a quarterback-driven league, and a player as dominant as Rodgers will be more than able to make up for the loss of his top receiver.
5 – Dante Fowler, DE, Jacksonville Jaguars
There really hasn’t been a lot to go right for Gus Bradley during his first two seasons as Jacksonville’s head coach. His teams have won just seven games in two seasons, and he’s had especially bad luck when it comes to his top draft picks. Luke Joeckel, the second pick in 2013, missed the final 11 games of his rookie season, and now Dante Fowler, the number three pick in 2015, will miss his entire rookie season with a torn ACL. Fowler’s injury, suffered in the spring, means he will likely be healthy for the start of the 2016 season, but it’s still a devastating blow for a team that needs to take a significant step forward.
6 – Orlando Scandrick, CB, Dallas Cowboys
In a division littered with subpar secondary play, Dallas cornerback Orlando Scandrick might be the best player at his position. Now he’s out for the season after suffering a torn ACL last week. Scandrick’s injury is one an overachieving Cowboys unit from 2014 really can’t afford. Now either first-round bust Morris Claiborne or first-round rookie Byron Jones will be thrust into a starting role. In a division with receivers like Odell Beckham and DeSean Jackson, this is not good news for Rod Marinelli’s defense.
7 – Junior Galette, OLB, Washington Redskins
Washington’s prized defensive signing this offseason, a player who inked a low-cost one-year deal just a few weeks ago, suffered a torn Achilles in practice and will miss the entire 2015 season. Galette has collected 22 sacks in the last two seasons and was probably the second-best player on the Redskins’ defense, behind only Ryan Kerrigan. It’s been a brutal week for the Redskins, with the injury to Galette and the drama surrounding quarterback Robert Griffin III.
8 – Arian Foster, RB, Houston Texans
The severity of Arian Foster’s groin injury still isn’t completely known, but the guess here is that the former rushing champion misses about four games. With Foster sidelined, the Texans will need to rely on unproven backs like Alfred Blue and Chris Polk to shoulder the load. Their current quarterback situation, with veteran Brian Hoyer beating out Ryan Mallett for the starting job, won’t help either. Foster is easily the most valuable piece of a relatively weak offensive. If he’s out for a significant period of time, the Texans have almost no chance to compete for a playoff spot.
9 – Will Beatty, LT, New York Giants
Veteran Will Beatty tore his pectoral in a freak accident back in June, and it’s unclear how long he’ll be sidelined. Right now, the Giants have rookie first-rounder Ereck Flowers working at Beatty’s left tackle spot. Although they still have Eli Manning and Odell Beckham, their weak offensive line could be the downfall of the team, especially if Beatty misses a significant portion of the year.
10 – Kevin White, WR, Chicago Bears
A mysterious calf injury for rookie first-round pick Kevin White turned out to be a stress fracture that will sideline him for at least the first six games of the season. That’s the best-case scenario. The worst-case scenario is that White misses his entire rookie season. Drafted to be the replacement for Brandon Marshall, White’s absence from the field as a rookie is a major setback for quarterback Jay Cutler, who may be on his last legs in Chicago.
