Nyheim Hines and the Buffalo Bills were looking forward to another big year for the 26-year-old running back in what should have been his first full season with the squad. Unfortunately, disaster struck even before Hines could play his first game of the campaign.
Buffalo Bulls RB Involved in Freak Jet Ski Accident
Back in July, Hines was involved in a freak accident while on vacation in North Carolina. The former Indianapolis Colts RB was hit by another jet ski which caused serious injury to his knee injury. Thankfully, it was a non-life-threatening injury for Hines, but he had to undergo surgery to repair the damage in the ACL of his left knee. It ended up being a season-ending injury for the running back, who will now be forced to watch the entire 2023 campaign from the sidelines.
Buffalo Bills’ Nyheim Hines Taking Legal Action
Hines clearly isn’t happy with these developments, especially considering how he appears to be completely innocent. As such, the Buffalo RB has decided to take legal action:
“According to North Carolina authorities, Nyheim Hines was struck by a recklessly operating jet-skier traveling at potentially 40 mph and in violation of North Carolina’s minimum watercraft education training requirements. The reckless operator was cited by authorities as causing the accident. Nyheim, who has his boating license and was likely traveling at about 10 mph was not cited and has engaged my office to hold the necessary parties accountable for ending his season and costing him potentially many millions of dollars. Why someone elected to rent a jet ski to such a person and why this person chose to do so are questions my office will be looking into very closely in the coming weeks. I look forward to doing everything I can to put the pieces back together for Nyheim, who is a terrific person and client,” read the statement.
While it was not stated directly in the statement, it appears that Hines is going after both the reckless jet skier who caused the accident, as well as the company that rented out the said jet-ski. It also sounds like he’s going to be suing for a lot of money in damages.
In March of this year, Hines signed a two-year contract with the Bills amounting to $9 million. According to reports, the running back could have earned up to $340,000 in per-game bonuses, as well as up to $500,000 in season-long incentives such as touchdowns, rushing yards, and receiving yards. Hines obviously won’t be able to get any of those bonuses this year.
The hope here is that this major injury does not have a long-term impact on his career.
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