QB injuries are part of all levels of football, but at the NFL quarterback level, they are often career-ending. This is for a few reasons, including players being older, being hit harder, and sometimes playing through injuries until an injury is too severe to come back from. Nobody wants to see a player’s career ended by an injury, but it happens every year, and often it isn’t revealed until months following the season when a player realizes they aren’t able to make it back to 100%
2023 was a year of many injuries in the NFL, particularly to quarterbacks. Joe Burrow, Aaron Rodgers, Kirk Cousins, and DeShaun Watson are just a few of the quarterbacks who had season ending injuries. But could any of these players end up never coming back? Unfortunately, the answer is that it’s very likely.
History of NFL Quarterbacks and Career Ending Injuries
NFL quarterbacks are often not built to take big hits. Unlike running backs and receivers that are trained and used to taking big hits, quarterbacks are often caught while mid-throw or while trying to slide. When this happens, they are put in a very vulnerable spot, and often end up seriously hurt.
Steve Young was one of the best quarterbacks in thte 1990’s winning three Super Bowls (two as a backup), however he was known for getting concussions. Following a seventh concussion in week three against the Arizona Cardnials in 1999, doctos decided that it was time for Young to hang up the cleats for good.
Perhaps the most famous career ending injury was to Bo Jackson. In 1991, Jackson was tackled on a routine play, but his hip was dislocated and ultimately broke. The tissue in his hip area died and it was never able to recover, ending his career.
More recently Alex Smith was having a promising career when his leg was completely shattered. Although he did end up coming back to the leage a few years later, in an amazing comeback story, he never made it back to his old self, which in a way meant his NFL career sort of ended when his leg broke.
3 Quarterbacks Whose Career May Have Ended in 2024
Jaren Hall, Minneosota Vikings
Jaren Hall has a history of concussions, getting two at BYU and now a third with the Minnesota Vikings. Similiar to Steve Young, who also played for BYU, it’s possible that this offseason doctors will look at Hall and determine that another concussion may be too much for Hall to handle. An even more likely scenario however is that Hall will never see the field again simply due to depth charts.
Being a third-string QB is a tough spot in the NFL, and prior to his injury he was looking pretty good. Had he not been injured, he very easily could have worked himself into a spot to be a true backup. However, even with a few late game snaps later in the year, he looked nervous and anxious, not helping his case. Asking a team to invest in him, especially with his concussion history, is questionable.
Kirk Cousins, Minnesota Vikings
Another Minnesota Viking, Kirk Cousins is already considered one of the older quarterbacks in the league without a ton of upside. While he’s certianly still skilled enough to lead a team in the NFL, he doesn’t really seem like a franchise style of quarterback that is really going to take a team to a deep playoff run. With that being said, he is also dealing with an achilles injury.
Achilles injuries can be particularly tough and unpredictable. Typically a 95% pre-injury form can be expected from an achilles tendon issue, which sounds great, but with Cousins already a fringe-starter in the league, and with recent contract issues with the Vikings, if he doesn’t get a deal with the team, he may have a tough time finding a team willing to pay him, ultimately resulting in him retiring.
Aaron Rodgers, New York Jets
Until Aaron Rodgers actually takes another snap in a real game, there still needs to be the question of whether or not he will be able to back to 100%. Given his age, 40, anything less than a 100% healthy Rodgers may not be the best option for the Jets or any other team.
Aaron Rodgers underwent a new surgery to repair his ACL, and while all indications show it was in fact revolutionary and successful, it is still a new surgery and the long term effectivness is still to be determined. Everything indicates that Rodgers will be the starter for the Jets in 2024, but again, until he takes an actual snap, the question is still out there.
Conclusion
Hopefully none of these injuries end up actually being career ending for any of these three players. However, with 66 quarterbacks that started a game in the NFL this year, in large part because of injuries, the odds say that at least one of the QB’s that got hurt will never see the field again.
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