The NFL pre-season has been peppered with injuries, and they have understandably sparked concerns. If players get injured even before the season begins, this leaves teams scrambling to replace them, and those who don't have good squad depth could find themselves struggling before the season ends.
Among recent players to pick up injuries are CJ Gardner-Johnson, Anthony Richardson, Bilhal Kone and Rashawn Slater.
CJ Garner-Johnson plays for Houston Texans, while Bilhal Kone plays for Ravens. Anthony Richardson plays for Colts and Rashawn Slater is with the Los Angeles Chargers.
Here's a look at the injuries the players suffered.
CJ Gardner-Johnson
Houston Texans safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson was believed to have injured his ACL in the Thursday scrimmage, but reports have now emerged that his ACL is fine, and the injury is not season-ending.
However, the knee injury has come as a blow for the team, and Gardner-Johnson will now undergo more tests to check the extent of knee damage he's suffered, and to understand how much time he is likely to miss.
Anthony Richardson
{{/usCountry}}However, the knee injury has come as a blow for the team, and Gardner-Johnson will now undergo more tests to check the extent of knee damage he's suffered, and to understand how much time he is likely to miss.
Anthony Richardson
{{/usCountry}}Anthony Richardson Sr. suffered a finger injury during the game, and made a quick exit, not returning to the field. During halftime, an injury update was shared, with Cols coach Shane Steichen telling Fox59 “I don’t know the extent of it. It was just a dislocation, popped it and popped back in. I don’t know how long he’ll be out.”
Bilhal Kone
Baltimore Ravens rookie DB Bilhal Kone went down vs the Indianapolis Colts in the team's first preseason game on Thursday. He suffered a knee injury, the extent of which is not known, but the visuals seemed gruesome.
Rashawn Slater
The Chargers player Slater was in for bad news after suffering a non-contact knee injury. He has a patellar tendon tear and will have to undergo surgery for the same. Slater has already been ruled out for the 2025 season, and suffered this blow weeks after he'd signed a contract extension.
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Sportsmith, an athlete development platform noted “Preseason is one of the most physically taxing blocks of the year. Players are encountering new managers, new systems, and new fitness staff. They are training more, lifting heavier, and running further, all with fewer recovery windows and more eyes on their performance.”
One person even wrote on X, “Eliminate the pre season…open teams up for a larger roster to prevent injuries having large effect on main season. (eliminates XFL)”.
However, a 2021 study actually showed that injury rates in NFL players increased when pre-season games were scrapped due to Covid.