It was a tough weekend for just about every team in the National Football League. A litany of injuries spread throughout the league in its second week of play as top players like New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley and Denver Broncos quarterback Drew Lock succumbed to ailments and were forced to leave the game, along with dozens others.
Buckeyes in the league were not immune to the injury bug, as five former Ohio State went down with injuries on Sunday, ranging from minor to potentially season-ending.
San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa, the reigning defensive rookie of the year that was considered one of the best linemen in the NFL entering this season, suffered what the 49ers are anticipating is a torn ACL, which would end Bosa’s sophomore season. Bosa went down clutching his knee after being rolled up on in a scrum.
Nick Bosa gets upended and immediately grabs at his knee. pic.twitter.com/qSL5UMrIkQ
— Dieter Kurtenbach (@dieter) September 20, 2020
Head coach Kyle Shanahan said that the injury is “most likely” a torn ACL.
“Some key players with some bad injuries, which makes it always a little bit harder,” Shanahan said. “I thought it was a real good game by the team. But you’ve got a little bit of mixed emotions when you lose some guys like that.”
Two Buckeyes on the Indianapolis Colts sustained serious leg injuries as well, as wide receiver Parris Campbell and safety Malik Hooker were both forced to leave the game and will be examined further this week to determine severity. Campbell was hit hard in the knee in the first quarter, and head coach Frank Reich said that he’s “hoping for the best. No word on the severity… But it happened right in front of me and it didn’t look good.”
“I love Parris,” Reich said. “And so, for two weeks, in back-to-back weeks, to have Marlon and Parris go down like that — and we don’t know the extent of Parris’ injury yet, so I don’t want to jump to conclusions — but these are two great football players and two class acts, two great teammates. These guys are the best. And so we’re hoping for the best for Parris. We’ll have to wait and see.”
Parris Campbell down holding his knee. It doesn’t look good. Wow. #Colts pic.twitter.com/sDl7M8tk2n
— Locked On Colts Podcast (@LockedOnColts) September 20, 2020
Hooker injured his Achilles later in the game and is scheduled for an MRI on Monday.
Haven't confirmed whether Malik Hooker has a torn Achilles, but he is scheduled for an MRI tomorrow, source says. Could be the Colts second such injury in as many weeks.
— Stephen Holder (@HolderStephen) September 20, 2020
Hooker has battled several leg injuries in his young NFL career, but this could be the most damaging if he misses significant time, because he’s currently in a contract year and needed a productive season to garner a renewal with the Colts.
Elsewhere, Denver defensive tackle Dre’Mont Jones injured his knee in the fourth quarter against Pittsburgh, but the Broncos have not released any information on the severity. Jones was expected to be a major contributor in Denver this season.
Lastly, Green Bay center Corey Linsley left the game with a hand injury and did not return for a 42-21 win over the Detroit Lions.