Promising NFL Careers That Injuries Totally Derailed

Deshaun Watson was practically unstoppable for six and a half games in 2017. Then an ACL injury struck in practice. Carson Wentz was arguably the league’s MVP until he suffered the same injury during a Week 14 win. Now, with the 2018 season approaching, Texans and Eagles fans are praying their respective quarterbacks are good as new.

If not, Watson and Wentz will join the ever-growing ranks of NFL stars who sadly saw their careers taken away by serious injury. While wishing they avoid such a fate, let’s look back at some of the greatest NFL careers derailed by injury.

Robert Edwards

The 18th overall pick of the 1998 NFL Draft had a beastly rookie season for the Patriots, rushing for 1,115 yards, catching for 331 more, and scoring 12 total touchdowns.

He set a record for consecutive games with at least one touchdown to start a career, scoring seven times in his first six games. The record’s since been tied by Karlos Williams.

During a rookie flag football game during Pro Bowl week, Edwards blew his knee out so badly his leg nearly had to be amputated. He made an admirable return to the NFL four years later, playing in 12 games before calling it a career.

Ickey Woods

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As a rookie, the running back helped carry the Bengals to the Super Bowl, rushing for 1,066 yards and 15 scores during the regular season, then another 307 yards and three touchdowns in three playoff games, where his side fell 20-16 to the 49ers.

Two games into his second season, the originator of the “Ickey Shuffle” tore his ACL. He played in 19 games over the following two seasons, and that was it.

Keith Millard

Millard was on his way to a Hall of Fame career before a knee injury struck in 1990. In his first five seasons, Millard played in 71 games (60 starts) and had 51 sacks, including 18 quarterback takedowns behind the line of scrimmage in 1989, when he was named the Defensive Player of the Year.

Robert Griffin III

Griffin was electric as a rookie in 2012, throwing for 3,200 yards, 20 touchdowns, and five interceptions in 15 games, adding another 815 yards and seven scores on the ground. But he injured his right knee in Week 14, then again in the playoffs.

He took a step back statistically in 2013, then suffered a dislocated ankle in Week 2 of 2014 and played in just 12 more games in his career.